


Operation: Y.E.S.

by MindKnox



Series: Diamonds In The Rough [4]
Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game), Life Is Strange 2 (Video Game)
Genre: Action, Almost the apocalypse, Animal Death, Badass Kate Marsh, Badass Victoria Chase, Brief Night In The Woods Crossover, Christmas Party, F/F, Fluff, Gen, Ghosts, Hostage Situations, Light Angst, Light-Hearted, Marriage, Mild Language, Mind Control, Minor Violence, Post-Save Arcadia Bay Ending, Road Trips, Romance, Weirdness, Zombies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-04
Updated: 2020-03-14
Packaged: 2021-01-05 21:22:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 48,900
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21215282
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MindKnox/pseuds/MindKnox
Summary: Through thick and thin, as life has gotten stranger and stranger, Victoria and Kate are sticking together in surprising marriage! Unfortunately, the supervillains amongst the strange have prepared a plot that threatens the country. Together, with Max, Chloe and their legion of extravagant friends and family, they must repel the menace and fight on in the name of love and life!(Also available on Fanfiction.net)





	1. Interlude Before Extinction

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, everyone! Welcome to Part 4! Here we are, in the first half of the endgame now! Make sure to read the first three parts of this series before this! Also, spoilers for LIS 1, 2, BTS, and the comics!
> 
> Please leave kudos and comments if you have any thoughts on this story, and most of all...
> 
> Enjoy!

JULY

A shoebox sails out to sea on a cool July afternoon as sadness blows in from the Pacific Ocean into Arcadia Bay.

Alice the Rabbit is dead. Natural causes: the killer of the eight-year old pet.

Solemnly standing by the shores as waves gently crash along the land are Kate Marsh and Victoria Chase. 

And behind them are Kate’s parents, Richard and Sandra, here at this ceremony to provide support to their daughter and her kinda-wife in this time of tragedy. Rich walks forward and puts a hand on Kate’s shoulder. He somberly tells her, “Katie, we’re so sorry about this happening to Alice.”

Kate nods her head as she and Victoria hold hands. “Thank you, Dad. It’s just, she was so young.”

Richard shrugs his shoulders tiredly. “Well, rabbits aren’t known for their longevity. But she was a darn good rabbit, wasn’t she?”

Kate nods her head as Victoria wipes tears from her cheeks. “She was.”

Richard gives her one of his endearing dad grins. He adds, with a pointed finger, “And that’s what matters. She was good to you, in the time she had. And she’ll always be with you.”

Sandra walks up to Kate and rubs her back, telling her, “Always.”

Victoria looks at Kate and kisses her forehead: “You were the best bunny mom I’d ever seen. I’m proud of you. And so is Alice. Wherever she is.” She tells the Marshes, “Let’s go grab something to eat.”

Kate asks her, “Two Whales?”

* * *

“One week was all she had after Dolly took her.” Kate sighs as she eats a french fry dipped in mustard.

Victoria crosses her arms as she looks out at the Bay. Angry - not at Kate or her parents, but at the evil out there in the world. The evil who hurt Kate in kidnapping Alice: “She surely didn’t kill her. But still, that sick bitch took her for just a few moments. Glad Dolly’s where she belongs now…” Kate holds her hand to calm her down and bring her back to her senses. Victoria puts a palm on her temple and says sheepishly to the table, “I- um, sorry.”

Rich takes a bite of his cheeseburger and washes it down with a mug of milk. He tells her, “It’s alright.”

Victoria looks at Kate’s hand and eases up. Kate continues, “She also didn’t hurt her. That much was clear. But I know that Alice is in a better place now.”

Victoria cuts a square into her waffles and takes a bite of it, stating with her mouth full, “Amen.”

Richard looks at the two and says, “So, to make things lighter, congrats on the proposal.”

Victoria nods her head and swallows her waffles. “Ah, yes. Just what I wanted to talk to you about. Thank you." 

Richard asks, gulping his milk, "When's the wedding?"

Victoria laughs a bit, somewhat nervously. She tells him. "We weren't really planning one, all things considered. Not a lot of time. We were just gonna live together and, I dunno, work."

Richard puts down his milk and proclaims to them, "You're not dying, neither of you. What's the matter?"

Kate tells him, "That whole 'armageddon' thing, remember?"

Richard shrugs his shoulders, looks to his wife, and then to Kate and Victoria. "So? Uncle Lou had his wedding on New Years 2000 and I don’t remember any satellites crashing down on us. The Lord didn’t whisk me away or anyone else. A big tsunami didn’t blow into town.”

Kate laughs and tells him, "You know what I mean."

Richard nods his head. “I do. So don’t let this ‘end of days’ malarkey get in the way of love. Besides, aren’t you two superheroes?”

Victoria looks around as Kate shushes him quickly, adding, “Kinda, but that’s a secret.”

Richard covers his mouth and says, “Oops. Sorry. But yeah, just beat down this bad guy - Bethlehem, or whatever - and get to the church on time, you know?”

Victoria adds, “We can try. He seems tough though. He’s an evil tattoo.”

Richard raises one of his eyebrows and tells her, “Ever heard of laser tattoo removal?”

“I… Maybe that could work?” Victoria taps her chin with her finger before turning to Kate and asking, “Katie, what’s your take on lasers?”

“I can try and make them.”

Victoria perks up and smiles at her, telling her, “Good! Then we do that next time Bedlam shows his ugly… skull.” She extends a hand to Richard: “You have my word, Rich. We won’t let evil get in the way of our marriage…” Richard shakes her hand and she adds, “ God, that sounds weird saying out loud. How’s November sounding? A lot of time to plan.”

Richard smiles at the two girls and tells them, “It can most certainly work.”

* * *

“All it needs is a little bit of reconfiguring for going back. Worst thing you want is a goddamn black hole or something.” A scalpel stabs into a wormhole watch as several microscopic tendrils toy with its inner workings. “Let’s just hope 2039 or whenever doesn’t have one, thanks to Iris’ and his dumb ‘Patriots-AI’ ass.”

Inside an open prison cell with photographs on a wall next to a bed, Dr. Wanda Court snickers in agreement as she retracts the tiny tendrils into her index finger. With oven mitts on her hands and goggles on her eyes, the Other Max grabs the watch and fiddles with the hands on its face.

Suddenly, in steps Sean Prescott, financier of the Agency of Metahuman Containment. He asks of the two women, “How are my two leading mad scientists doing tonight?”

Court says to him, “Just phenomenal, Mister Prescott!”

The Other Max adds, “Yes. Phenomenal, indeed.”

Sean snaps his fingers at the girls and tells them, “That’s what I like to hear!” He walks over to the Other Max and looks at the wormhole watch, nodding in approval as a low hum emanates from it.

Court asks him, “What’s up with the Enforcers?”

Sean explains as he paces around the cell, “Jumper’s been on the case for the past little while. No new reports… Of course, aside from… her other handing Teddy over to the FBI on a silver platter. But trust me, we’ll get all those bastards in due time. And we’ll see what makes them tick.”

The menacing Other Max looks at the watch as it begins ticking past twelve o’clock sharp. She responds, “Neat.”

* * *

AUGUST

_ Tick tock tick tock _.

As the clock ticks down, Victoria and Kate lie in bed together, holding and kissing one another. Victoria says to Kate, “Just a few seconds to six. Then, it’s cake time.”

Victoria plops a kiss on Kate' neck, prompting her to ask, “Mm. Is it though?”

With a laugh, Victoria says, “Of course, Katie. It’s obviously my birthday. Sucks that everyone else couldn’t make it. Just us, my parents, and Auntie Mia. Ah, she's the best Auntie.”

"Better than mine.” Kate hugs Victoria, telling her, “But all that matters is that you're here. And I'm here."

“True. But, like, what is everyone doing today, of all days, that makes them all so busy?”

“Working. Maybe hunting down those Enforcers.”

“Mayb-” An alarm on Kate's phone goes off: _ Doodele-doo-da-le-doot-doot _ . _ Doodele-doo-da-le-doot-doot _. Victoria shoots her a joyful grin and says, “Cake time.”

“Of course.” The two step out of bed, letting the blanket that was covering them fall onto the mattress, and hold hands while looking into each other’s eyes. Kate says, “Let’s cover your eyes”, and she raises her hands up to Victoria’s cheeks, playfully pinching them.

She places her hands over Victoria’s eyes and begins leading her out of her bedroom. “Oh god, is someone gonna throw a yoga ball at my head?”

Down the hallway. “Here’s a hint: No.”

Just outside of the living room. “Good.”

Walking into the living room, Kate moves her hands away from Victoria’s eyes.

“SURPRIIIIISE!”

Standing in the living room are Victoria’s parents, her aunt Mia, Max Caulfield and Chloe Price, Rachel and Rose Amber, Joyce, David and little Clarence W. Price, Taylor Christensen and Courtney Wagner, Sean, Esteban and both Daniel Diazes, Kate's sisters and her parents, K’mai, Master Godho, Sani, and Naton. They are standing in front of a big cake with red, white and gray frosting.

Victoria's eyes become filled with tears, happy tears, for all the happy people around her. She yelps gleefully, “OHMYGODDDD!”

From there, everyone sings for her as Kate leads her closer to the cake:

“_ Happy biiiirthday - congratulaaaations! _

_ Happy biiiirthday - with salutaaaations! _

_ Happy biiiirthday - and may your skies stay bluuuue _

_ Happy biiiirthday - to yoooou! _”

Victoria blows out the nineteen candles on her birthday cake, much to the applause of the many friends and family around her. Kate kisses her on the cheek as Chloe pats her on the shoulder.

Chloe asks, with that devilish grin of hers, “What’d ya wish for?”

Victoria holds back a laugh as she tells her with a smirk, “Can’t say it, Chloe, or it won’t come true.”

Chloe shrugs. “Fair enough.”

Max drags Rachel over to the other three girls and brings them all together as a small swarm of blue butterflies hold a polaroid camera in front of the girls. She tells her friends, “Okay, everyone, get in the picture!” As the five bunch together, Max holds Chloe’s hand and Kate loops an arm around Victoria’s waist. Max tells the group, “Smile!” And they do as a butterfly descends onto the button.

_ SNAP _ … _ schooom _. The butterflies hand the camera to Max and she takes the photograph out of the camera to shake it, as she usually does.

Colin Chase, Victoria’s father, confusedly asks, “Wha- why shake it?”

Max looks at him and shrugs, telling him jovially, “It’s cool.”

He looks at her with squinted eyes. “It shakes up the image, doesn’t it?”

Victoria steps forward and puts a hand on his shoulder before telling him, "Trust her, Dad. She knows what she’s doing."

Max hands the photograph to Victoria and the two Chases look at it. Turns out it wouldn’t be shaken up. Colin hums as he observes the image. “It’s very nice.”

Max nods her head and says, “Thank you”, before walking over to Chloe.

Onto the cake cutting. Victoria’s mother, Zara Chase, cuts a slice for her daughter and puts it on a plate. "Here's your slice, sweetie."

Victoria nods her head as she takes the plate and says, "Thanks." She takes a bite of the cake and seems to enjoy it.

Zara cuts another slice and puts it on a plate for Kate. "And here is yours."

Kate takes the plate while graciously saying, “Thank you” and she walks over to Victoria as she takes a seat on the living room couch.

Chloe walks forward with a baby carrier now attached to her chest. Seated in it is her baby half-brother, Clarence, born just two weeks prior. "How about some for the other August folks?"

Sean Diaz walks forward with a smile, stating, "I could go for some cake."

Zara cuts a slice for him and puts it on a plate. She hands it to Sean but it is swiftly spirited away. Sean turns to glare at his two brothers and annoyedly exclaims, "Daniel… s!" Zara gives him another slice and he tells her, "Thank you” as he walks over to the young monk K’mai and the two Daniel Diazes eating his original slice.

Zara cuts a slice for Chloe, telling her cautiously, “Give this one to the baby.”

“Of course.” Chloe detects some tension within Victoria’s mother, considering her history with her daughter. To ease these feelings up, Chloe immediately cuts a small piece and gives it to Clarence to eat. "Chow down, little guy." Clarence awkwardly eats the piece of cake and clearly wants more, prompting a chuckle from Chloe.

Max walks over and says, “You’re doing great, deary.”

Chloe giggles. “Hey, he’s not ours.” She rubs Clarence’s head softly and says, “Guess he can be close enough though. Think he'll be like me?"

A wide grin crosses Max’s face and she tells her, "There will never be someone else like you."

Zara walks around the living room to observe the party. Everything is going good. She grabs a plate of cake for herself and takes a bite. She walks over to Victoria and says, “Vic, this stuff is delicious! Where’d you say you got it from?”

“Some bakery on Mars that the Marauders are running.” Victoria adds with a laugh, “Yes. There’s life on Mars now.” Zara nods along as she viciously tears into her slice of cake.

Colin looks at it and asks, “Is it… non-allergenic?”

“I think so.” Victoria looks away as a snarky smile grows on her face. “Though it’s got little Xenomorph eggs baked into it.” Both of her parents look at her in confusion, prompting her to tell them, “I’m kidding, obviously!”

Zara shrugs and gets back to her feast. Colin lets out a bored laugh and adds, “We figured.”

Kate walks over to gently hold Victoria by her waist, and asks, “So how’s November sounding? For the wedding?”

Colin tells her, “It sounds perfectly. Where are you guys looking to hold it?”

“There’s this church that Kate’s family always goes to. We’ll go there.” The two girls smile at each other, blushing as they do so.

Victoria’s parents beam at this affection, adding, “Perfect… How about Thanksgiving Day? I don’t think we’re too busy then. What do you think? Too tacky or what?”

* * *

“It feels like a warm hug!” The Other Max hugs a black blazer - one of Jefferson’s - as Dr. Court steps around the containment cell. “I guess that’s just the vibe he always gave off.”

Looking at Max’s wall of photographs, Court tells her, “I wouldn’t call that creepy fuck ‘warm’ if he paid me a thousand dollars. Glad he’s dead.”

The Other Max squints at Court, offended: “To appreciate art is to appreciate the past. And I always appreciated his lessons.”

The Other Max looks at her wall of photographs. Photos of the past. Photos of Max in the Dark Room. She thinks back to one of his lessons: “_ You can’t just throw a few subjects around and expect a cohesive style or theme. _” She says to the wall, “RIP, Jefferson” before grabbing the photos off the wall and dropping them onto her bed.

“This is gonna blow some minds.” The Other Max reaches into a bucket full of sewing needles with one hand as she opens up the jacket with her other.

“Piss people off.” She sews one photograph - a scared Max glaring at Jefferson’s camera with pink lights illuminating the Dark Room - into the jacket.

“The right people.” Another photograph - Max and Chloe discovering the body of Rachel Amber in the Junkyard. She sews it into the jacket too.

“People who-” A photograph of Kate in the Dark Room. She freezes up and blinks. “No.” She puts the photograph aside and grabs another photograph of Max, lying on the floor of the Dark Room.

“People who will know.” Max picks up the jacket and tries it on. A surprisingly comfortable fit. As she tugs on it, she tells herself, “Just gotta take a chance…” She puts the camera helmet on her head. “_ Always take the shot. _”

* * *

SEPTEMBER

_ BANG _. A bullet enters the forehead of a print-out of Nathan Prescott’s sneering, smiling, smug face.

Chloe jumps up in the air at the sound of the shot and high-fives Victoria, telling her, “Nice one!”

Victoria returns the high-five and says, “Thanks.” She aims the gun at a picture of Damon Merrick and pulls the trigger on it with a _ BANG _. It hits the print-out in the cheek, much to Chloe’s delight.

Sitting on a couch, meditating, with Naton next to him, K’mai states, “They’re so much louder here than in the games we play!”

Victoria turns to him and says, “Right?” Still aiming her gun at the targets, she pulls the trigger with a _ BANG _. Except she isn’t aiming at the targets; she’s aiming at a rusty barrel. The bullet ricochets around the Junkyard with a _PING PANG PENG_ before flying into the sky.

Chloe grabs Victoria’s gun and smacks her upside the head: “Dude, watch it when you’re shooting!”

Victoria freezes as she realizes just what could’ve happened. Warmly and apologetically, she says, “Sorry…” She looks at Naton and K’mai, both freaked out a little bit, and tells them nervously, “Master Godho should really look into training you guys on this stuff.” Victoria sighs. “Okay, bad time to joke. I’m sorry.”

* * *

Coldly yet patiently, Bedlam tells his minion, “All is forgiven, Tangi…”

Standing before a blackboard with maps of Arcadia Bay, Culmination, Beaver Creek and the Agency’s Missouri Headquarters is the evil tattoo… thing himself: Bedlam. He is armed with a small branch, which he is hitting the board with as he makes his points. “Back to the plan. We will have two teams. One for Independence. And one for Arcadia…”

Bedlam snaps his fingers next to his temple, adding, “Alas, I am getting ahead of myself. We need to focus on getting our supplies… for the party.”

* * *

OCTOBER

A brisk breeze flows through Kate’s apartment as Max and Chloe walk in, dressed as Supergirl and Batgirl. Sitting inside at a circular table are Joyce, Rose, Rachel, Zara, Sandra, Victoria and Kate. The latter two are wearing devil horns and a golden halo, respectively.

Max holds up a paper bag and proclaims to her friends, “We had to beat down a Vampire-Nazi Max for this thing!” Everybody gives her a “Woo” collectively.

Kate jokingly asks while holding her rosary out to Max, “No bites?”

Max howls into the sky before laughing and telling her, “Nada! But these fangs are good for one thing.” She pulls out a sharp fang from her hoodie and stabs it into the cork of the bottle in the bag. _ POP _ opens the green bottle of Mellow Moscato wine as mist pours out from it. “You’re okay with this.”

As everyone claps for her, Victoria asks, “Pass it along, Max!” She extends a hand to take the bottle and Max hands it to her. She pours the red into two cups - one for herself and one for Kate. She hands the second cup to her fiance and says with a smile, “Here’s to us, Katie! And here’s to all of you guys!”

The two toast their glasses and down their drinks happily. A buzz overcomes them both and Kate remarks gleefully, “Oh my God. Just like old times.”

Both Kate and Victoria fall over onto the table with a soft _ slam. _ Out like lights.

Chloe looks at the two, looks around, pokes Victoria’s shoulder, and asks of them, “Guys?”

* * *

Blackwell Academy. It’s cool, serene, empty and at peace. Victoria and Kate - dressed in their old Blackwell outfits - step out of the Prescott Dorms as a blue butterfly flutters in front of them and lands on Kate’s nose. Victoria states cautiously, “This isn’t the future. It’s Blackwell…” Another familiar face walks past them: Samuel, the kooky custodian himself. “And also Samuel.”

Kate waves at him, saying happily, “Hi, Samuel!”

Samuel smiles at them as a squirrel scuttles into the Arcadia Bay wilderness. “Hello, graduates. What brings you back to Blackwell?”

Victoria looks around, frantically seeking an answer off the top of her head. She says one: “Uh… Nostalgia?”

Samuel nods at this and points, “Ah, good choice of cider. I prefer the Surging Champagne myself.”

Both Kate and Victoria freeze, confused. Victoria opens her mouth to respond before stopping and trying again with, “I- How do you- Okay?” Samuel nods at them again before grabbing a can of white paint and marching off elsewhere. “Bye.”

The two lovers walk to a bench where a mallard is honking at a doe. The mallard rushes away into the wilderness too, with the doe following closely behind. Victoria looks at Kate and smiles at her: “It’s so peaceful here. Think it’s post-final-battle-whatever?”

“It isn’t the future, right?”

“And yet, it isn’t the past… Or maybe it is?”

A new voice, from a wily and weird young lady, says, “It’s post. And pre.” The pink Moth - Dolly’s spirit animal - flutters onto Victoria’s shoulder and nibbles at her crimson cashmere sweater. “It’ll all make sense later.”

Victoria glares at her to meet her “face” - white wings with four gray eyes - and she angrily asks, “Aren’t you supposed to be dead?”

The Moth flutters away from Victoria, still chowing down on a tiny patch of fabric. “Yes. And No. Lots of ‘ands’, but that’s what happens with a topsy-turvy-timeline.” The Moth flies into the air, away from Blackwell but within Arcadia Bay. She tells them, “Be seein’ you soooon!”

Victoria sighs and crosses her arms. “Well, this just got worse…” She looks at Kate and hugs her, a bit afraid of the future with this new knowledge they have. “Let’s just sit here then ‘til we wake up, boo-thang.”

* * *

“Boo!”, yells Tangi, the Happy Clown, as he presses his face against the back window of an SUV.

Inside the car screams two elderly lovers embracing each other in a makeout session, dressed as skeletons: “AAAAAAAAAAH!”

Tangi curtsies for them, giddily adding, “And a happy Halloween to you too!” He runs off down the suburban streets of Redding, California to his Enforcer acquaintances. He asks of them as they look into their candy bags - stolen, of course - “What do we got?”

Damon Merrick runs his hands through his bag and comments what he has: “Some Laffy Taffy, Choco-Crisp up the wahzoo, Hawt Dawg Gummies… Strudels?”

Elmer grabs these Strudels and glares at them gluttonously. “Can’t complain!”

Lord Laundry eats a bag of candy corn whole just as a homeless man stares at him in astonishment. Spotting him, he roars a loud “RAAAAWR!”

The homeless man grimaces at the supervillain. “You don’t scare me!” He pulls a notebook out of his jacket. In it are sketches and sayings scribbled in French. He recites one: “_ Quitte cet endroit, Démon, car j'ai nos dieux en moi! _ Your powers are powerless against our Gods!”

Elmer looks around and tells the homeless man, while chowing down on a toaster strudel, “I ‘ave da power a’ shpiky ‘air.”

Suddenly, out of the blue, sirens blare and a police officer yells, “FREEZE!”

With a gun drawn on them, the Enforcers look at the cop and raise their hands. Tangi remarks, “‘Freeze’. Heh, bud, I’ve been tryin’ to go cold turkey!” Swiftly, he pulls a turkey out of his candy bag. “Give it a try!” He throws the turkey at the cop, causing him to recoil as it begins to _ tick tock _ because of the apparent bomb within.

The Enforcers run to a sports car and hop in. Damon demands, “Start the fuckin’ shit, start the shit!” At the driver’s seat, Elmer revs up the engines and drives off into the night, leaving the cop in the dust. “YEAH!”

Tangi looks out the window and waves the cop goodbye while yelling, “Byyyyyye!” He ducks back into the car and laughs amongst his friends. He tells them. “You guys rock! Soon though, we will rule.”


	2. Newedber

NOVEMBER

A white gown made of cashmere, as it always is for Victoria. She combs her hair and clears her throat. Feels funny in there. She thinks to herself, “_ This is it, Vic. The big moment. You will be Katie’s wife. No bad guys to get in the way… well, Chloe might do something stupid, but nothing bad. _ ” She pauses and shrugs her shoulders with a smile. " _ Naaaah, this is our day. It's her day… oh, Katie. _"

A knock at the door is heard and Colin steps inside. He asks, “Ready, Vic?”

Victoria turns to see her father and grins before telling him, “As ready as I’ll ever be.”

Colin loops his arm around hers as she grabs a bouquet of red roses from before her mirror. The two walk to the doors leading into the Main Hall of the Latter Day Church of Christ’s Will. Two choir boys open the door for them, leading into the church. Inside sat friends and family alike, a number combined all too numerous to list. But at the front was Kate, accompanied by Richard. She too is dressed in a white gown with glitter on the dress, shimmering like an angel as the sun shines on her. As Victoria draws nearer, she exchanges smiles with Kate. As she draws nearer, both Max and Zara take a few shots of the ceremony with professional cameras shipped in directly from the Chase Space.

Victoria reaches the front of the aisle. Both Colin and Richard step away from their daughters as the two lovers stand before one another, smiling behind their veils.

The priest, Father Lawrence, speaks joyously as everyone in the aisles takes their seats: "We are gathered here today to celebrate the unity and eternal friendship present within these two young lovers, to celebrate how thankful we are to be here for these two, and to celebrate the holy matrimony of which these two will spend the rest of their lives together. You may exchange your vows.”

“Kate. My sweet Kate. You’ve been the light of my life in the times that were darkest for me. Times where I had to face the past and my many, many mistakes, and you helped me be better than I ever was. Than I ever will be, maybe. I’d like to spend every remaining moment of my life by your side, and I’d love for you to be with me in the rest of mine.”

“Victoria, you’re the golden goose of my life. The person who has been with me through the trying times we live in, and across several state lines. Although we met on a very, very rocky beginning, everything after that has been simply the best. You’ve inspired me and my view on the world, that people can change and be good. And for that, I’m happy to be with you for the rest of my life.”

Father Lawrence asks, “Kathryn Beverly Marsh, do you take Miss Chase to be your lawfully wedded wife?”

Kate smiles at Victoria and tells her, “I do.”

Father Lawrence asks, “Victoria Marib-”

Victoria starts clutching her throat, her face growing blue as she does so. Suddenly, she falls to her knees as Father Lawrence rushes to her side and asks, “Miss Chase?”

Kate holds Victoria’s hands and looks her in the face, panicked: “Vic?”

In the crowd, Max realizes what is happening, remarking, “Oh, god.”

Victoria’s eyes widen as she spits out a pink Moth. The pink Moth. She yells angrily at it as it writhes on the floor, “AGH!”

The Moth takes flight, screaming gleefully, “YESSSS! FREEDOMMMMMMM!”

Chloe squints at the Moth and says, “The fuck?”

Kate rubs Victoria’s back and asks her, “Are you okay?”

Victoria opens her mouth and sticks her tongue out, seeing that it is covered in pink fur. Quickly, she wipes a lot of it away with her hands. With her tongue mostly cleared, she tells her, “I’m fine.”

The Moth flaps her wings in Victoria’s face and Kate aims a finger-gun at the villain. The Moth sees “Thanks for the ride, Vicky!” As the Moth flies into the ceiling of the Church to escape through the belltower, Victoria flips her off with two middle fingers. 

Kate helps Victoria rise back up to her feet. Father Lawrence speaks to the crowd and the brides, telling them, “I apologise for the inconvenience, everyone! May we continue?”

Victoria looks at him with exhaustion. She says, “Yes please.”

Father Lawrence asks, “Ah. So, Victoria Maribeth Chase, do you take Miss Marsh to be your lawfully wedded wife?”

Looking around for any sign of other threats and spotting none, Victoria blurts out quickly and happily, “Yes-yes-I-do-I-do-yes-I-do! I do!”

“If anyone objects to this here marriage, then speak now or forever hold your peace.” Silence… Good. “Then, it is my honor to pronounce you two wedded eternally! You may kiss the bride!”

Victoria and Kate lift up their veils and run into each other’s arms, kissing as the sun beams down on them. Everyone applauds and everyone cheers as the two wives smile at each other in between kisses.

Looking to the crowd, Victoria tosses her bouquet to them. It flies through the air into the hands of Chloe Price. She looks at the bouquet, looks at Max, and smiles.

* * *

Holding out a printout of the wedding invitation for his Enforcer friends to see, Tangi jokingly remarks, “Mawwiage! Mawwiage bwought dem togethah… today.”

Elmer lets out a laugh. “Good one, Tangi!”

Damon looks at it closely and claims, “We shoulda been there. We’d’ve had ‘em all in one place. One place to weed ‘em out!”

Bedlam remarks to his associates, “As delicious as that sounds, marriage is a holy temple that even I do not interfere in. Only a soulless monster would do such a thing.”

SLAM opens the front door to the Enforcers’ lair. “I’M BAAAAAACK!” In flies the Moth.

The Enforcers stand to confront her and ask, “Who are you?”

“It’s me! Dolly! I’m my own spirit animal now!”

Damon asks, “We can do that?”

Elmer asks, “Yo, what’s mine?”

The Moth flutters around Elmer’s spiky head of hair and tells him, “I dunno. Porcupine?” She moves onto Bedlam and lands on his ribboned shoulder. “Good to be back, boss man Bedlam.”

Bedlam looks at the Moth. “I sensed you weren’t wholly dead.”

“Oh, I was dead. But I had an ace up my sleeve. Or rather, down Victoria Chase’s throat. But now, with the gang almost all together, it’s time to go for the jugular.” The Moth flutters around the room sinisterly.

Bedlam claps his thorn-and-ribbon fingers together and says, "Indeed. Time to initiate Operation: Y.E.S."

As the Moth flies past Tangi, the clown thinks to himself. “_Good joke. _”

The Moth tells him mentally, “_Thanks, Tangster. _”

* * *

Sitting in a limousine, Victoria and Kate plop kiss upon kiss on one another. As Victoria nuzzles Kate’s neck, she tells her, “I like this.” She drops a kiss on Kate’s forehead and adds, “Fuck the end of the world. We’ll live forever.”

Kate lies her head on Victoria's chest as the two begin dozing off to sleep together, hands held in marriage. “Damn right, Vic.”


	3. Livin' It Up, In Love and Lavishness

DECEMBER

Days Until Christmas: 12

_ Vrr vrr _ . _ Vrr vrr _.

Sean Prescott is calling from his Agency office in Independence, Missouri.

Colin Chase answers as he boredly paces around the Chase Space after hours.

“Hello, Colin. It’s me.”

“I know it’s you. What’s up?”

“I would like to invite you and the girls over to Missouri for a little party: The Agency of Metahuman Containment’s Happy Holiday Bash! Please RSVPASAP.”

Colin smiles, although his old friend cannot see. “Well, consider us RSVP’d, old buddy!”

Sean laughs, telling him, “Excellent! Be seeing you soon!” Sean hangs up and Colin dials up his daughter.

* * *

_ Vrr vrr _ . _ Vrr vrr _ . _ Vrr vrr _ . _ Vrr vrr _ . “Vic, I think that’s your phone.” Kate looks over at her wife as she lies in a pile of blankets in their apartment. _ Vrr vrr _ . Travelling across two countries - _ Vrr vrr _ \- has drained her. A lot. _ Vrr vrr _ . “Victoria.” Kate gets up - _ Vrr _ \- and grabs the phone as the call stops. “Victorious Maxima.” She walks up to Victoria and sighs, “Urgh… Up and at ‘em, sleepyhead.” Kate sits next to Victoria and shakes her back, stating, “Your phone is ringing.”

Victoria awakens and drowsily asks, “Oh? Lemme get it.” She takes her phone into her hands and scrolls through the Caller ID to see her father’s name. She calls him back and answers, “Yello?”

“Hi, sweetie, how are you doing?”

Victoria rubs her eyes as she lies her head on Kate’s thighs. “Perfectly fine! Me and Katie just came back from our honeymoon. It was top-notch!” The two girls look at each other and laugh.

Colin laughs with them and says, “Glad to see you enjoyed them together! Say, would you be interested in coming along with us to Missouri in, like, a week or so?”

Victoria looks at Kate, considering her answer with her in mind: “That depends. What for?”

“Sean Prescott has invited us to a party at his work’s base!”

The smile drains from Victoria’s face, it drains into a sort of frown. “Yeah, no.”

Colin asks, understandingly, “How come?”

“Because the Agency is a fascistic gang of braindead stormtroopers tasked with subjugating innocent metahumans solely for being themselves? And Sean Prescott is somehow the lesser evil, but still the bigger evil because he’s Sean flippin’ Prescott?”

Silence befalls the phone before Colin sheepishly continues, “That… may be true. But they did save you! And this can be a good chance to boost your career! Meeting all these rich people with connectionsssss. Wooooh.”

Victoria lets out a giggle at her father’s ghost impression. Still, she has to lay down the law: “Sorry, Dad, but the answer’s gonna be a hard no. Maybe if Kate comes, but even I doubt that.”

“It appears to be only us.”

“Not even your bestest bud Richard? Maybe he can speak to some… stamp people? The people who sell stamps?”

Colin sighs almost sadly. It would be good for Richard’s little business of selling stamps himself: “No.”

“Aw. Then, the answer’s no. After that, though, we can always do something together.”

“Okay, we won’t press you on it. We will, however, press you on that post-Christmas shindig. Good night, sweetie!”

Her father’s endearingness brings a smile to her face as he hangs up the call. “Good night, Dad. Tell Mom I said ‘good night’ too.” She sighs and closes her eyes.

Kate asks of Victoria, “Is everything okay?”

Victoria shrugs her shoulders nonchalantly: “Yeah, just my Dad being my Dad. Business as usual.”

Kate strokes Victoria’s eyes with a glowing palm and looks at her gently. “Mind if I ask about it?”

“The Agency are having a Christmas party. Not interested.” The two roll their eyes and scoff at the idea of a Sean Prescott party. Victoria adds, “Besides, we’ve got bigger problems than… him.”

* * *

Days Until Christmas: 11

Arcadia Bay is still a growing little reborn baby, with its old ghosts coming around to haunt. One such phantasm is the new and improved Pacific Steve’s Famous Crab diner. It snows outside, but inside, a full-mouthed Max remarks to her three closest friends, with her maw stuffed with hushpuppies, “Me and Chloe ushed t’come hur’ all da time! Dez are delish!”

Stifling her own laughter, Chloe asks her, “Don’t choke.” Max laughs and Chloe turns her attention to the married couple across from them: “So how was the honeymoon?”

Victoria casually tells her friends, “Hawaii and Tokyo were lovely. You guys should visit sometime.” Kate, leaning on Victoria’s chest, nods along.

Chloe says, “My old Max went once, on a fun little solo journey. I heard it was nice.”

Max looks Chloe in the eyes and tells her, “We can always go.”

“Deal.” The two shake on it, prompting Victoria to let out a laugh.

Max turns her attention to Victoria and Kate, and asks, “So Sean Prescott’s throwing a Christmas party? Because of course he is.”

Cutting into a red lobster, Victoria explains, “My parents wanted me to go. And they seemed super cheery about it. Like more than usual.”

Taking one of Max’s many hushpuppies, Chloe asks, “Are you going?”

Victoria lightly recoils with a smile. “Pfft! No! Never. I mean, I’d much rather be partying with Katie than fighting an evil tattoo man, but it wouldn’t be Prescott’s party.” Max shrugs and Victoria squints at her for it. “Wha- why are you shrugging like that?”

“Well… Fate’s a funny thing.” Max drinks out of her can of Sprite while smirking at Victoria.

Victoria sighs and places her palm on her forehead. “Oh, for- seriously? How does it happen?” Max continues smirking, prompting a groan from Victoria. She crosses her arms and asks, “Great… Does Katie come along?”

Max’s eyes dart around the diner before she relents to say, “Yes.”

“Cool. That’s all that matters…” Victoria looks down at Kate, looks up at Max and Chloe, and looks at her lobster to eat a piece of it with the fork in her hand.

* * *

Days Until Christmas: 10

The belle of the ball himself, Sean Prescott, stands around the Ballroom of the Agency’s HQ as his minions - Dr. Court and the Jumper - decorate the place with their assorted - and allowed - metahuman abilities. Overseeing Court’s placement of a banner from the ground, Sean advises her, “Little bit to the left! Little more! Little more! Perfecto!” He puts his hands at ease and walks over to two soldiers setting up seats for tables. Wrapping his arms around the soldiers’ shoulders, he remarks with a sleazy smile, “This place’ll be in tip-top shape by next week!”

Sitting up against a banister from above, Court tells him, “Indeed.”

On a bowery below her, the Jumper yells to their boss, “Hey, Mr. Prescott! There’s a big bugs nest up here!”

Sean hums before telling him, “Turn it into a parking lot.”

The Jumper gives him a confused, “What?”

Sean scoffs. “T-take it down.”

The Jumper blips away for one second and returns in the next, armed with a broom. He swats at the nest, prompting a flurry of pink moths to attack him. He yells, “Ah! Fucking moths!”, and they begin to disperse into the halls below, avoiding Sean.

Court adds, “I saw a nest too!”

Sean strokes his chin, angered at this infestation. “I’ll have a crew do some sweeps. Wouldn’t want any unwanted guests…” Sean lets out an evil laugh under his breath, much to the confusion of his workers around him. "What, am- am I wrong?"

One of the soldiers hops to his feet to salute the Prescott patriarch, telling him, “No, sir.”

“Good… I'm gonna grab a ginger ale from the cooler.” Sean steps aside to one of the coolers and does as he says, grabbing a cold one and letting it open with a _ kssh _ and a _ fizzzz _.


	4. Day And Night Oregon Travellers

Days Until Christmas: 9

A sports car, packed with supervillains working under the poisonous Bedlam, drives through the afternoon woods of Oregon and down snowy roads. Santa may be watching, but the wicked and the naughty never rest either way.

Chilling in the front passenger’s seat is Elmer, listening to the Christmas tunes as they play on the radio.  _ Bep-bep bep bep bep-bep bep _ . Elmer heeds the call to hear Bedlam speak on speakerphone.

“Hello, boys. Your first mission is to go to the small town of Beaver Creek and meet with an arms dealer; his name is Morris and he is currently waiting for us at the Kitty Klub. Having made deals with the Agency of Metahuman Containment, he’ll own some supplies for the party that Sean Prescott is throwing - namely, a hard-light forcefield generator. It is capable of withstanding the force of the military’s most powerful weapons. ‘Tis important we acquire this machine.”

Tangi salutes the phone as he drives the car, much to his friends’ fear as he becomes distracted for just two seconds: “Aye, sir! We shall meet - ah - with this Morris and we’ll get his shit.”

Damon Merrick adds, “And we’ll pay him.”

Tangi proclaims, “And we’ll pay him!” He focuses back on the road fully and says, “Okay, bye bye, luv ya! Mwah!” He hangs up for Elmer and steps on the gas, drifting around the deserted town. It is peaceful and empty. It is an early night for these winter days anyways.

The sports car approaches the Kitty Klub. Fluorescent pink lights shine upon the villains as they step out of the car and into the cold. Out of the cold and into the Klub.

Up front at the desk is a middle-aged miss who asks of the quartet, “Are you boys here to have a good time?”

Damon tells her with a glinted smirk, “Maybe later. We’re here to see Morris and his boys.”

A weasley voice answers from within the venue, “Someone say ‘Morris’?” The voice belongs to a man who steps out from inside: Sheldon Pike. He looks at the villains, and he looks at his old friend, now ribboned up and very much alive. “Damon?”

The former drug dealer chuckles and walks over to Pike to give him a hug: “Sheldon, you devilish dealer, you!” He feels the frozen nature of Sheldon’s current being and adds casually, “Oh, yeah, I’m back.”

“They said Bowers killed you…”

Damon shrugs his shoulders and, still holding Sheldon in his hug, tells him, “I put myself back together. Like always. Weird world, my guy. But we’re weirdin’ it up as a crew.”

Sheldon laughs and nods along. “Damn straight. So, Morris?”

The hug breaks apart and Sheldon pats his old pal on the shoulder, telling him, “Yes. Let’s go, bro.”

Pike leads the villains into the Klub where the pink light has spread immensely. Strippers do their dances and entertain their admirers. The bartenders dole out drinks to the derelicts of Beaver Creek’s late night life, as well as two seemingly rugged out-of-towners. The villains enter a backroom where two thugs stand between two dancers, who stand between the table where Morris and his prize awaits the Enforcers.

Morris asks, crossing his hands together, “What’s up, Sheldon?”

Tangi interjects with a grin, “We’re here to make a deal you can’t refuse.”

Back on the open bar, the out-of-town duo laugh amongst each other. Behind their masks `of muck are the power couple of Max and Chloe. Max lets out a laugh that would make any pirate envious: “Ahahaha! Chloe… Oh my god, you’re a fucking boss! Never, EVER change.”

Chloe shrugs at this response to her story, telling Max, “I do as I please, Max! Just like that… and this.” She moves in for a kiss and the two embrace briefly.

Between drunken snickers and hiccups, Max tells her, “Chloe, ohmigod Chloe, you gonna marry this one day!”

Chloe smiles at Max and looks her in the eyes to tell her, “Goddamn right I am.”

The bartender passes the duo two tall glasses of water and Max says to her girlfriend, "Drink up, buttercup." They chug it with ease. Max shakes her head and slaps herself in the face to snap back to reality. “I mean, let’s… let’s stay on task first. We won’t get them… but we’ll get them by surprise. Fate wills it! Let’s get them… Bad guys, right?”

Chloe makes two finger guns and fires at Max before turning her aim to the backroom where the baddies lie in discussion: “Bad guys. Let’s go beat their shit.”

Seeing that Chloe can see with two eyes open, Max adjusts the eyepatch that should be covering her right eye and puts it back onto place. “And make sure to keep the disguise on.”

Chloe burps and adds, “I know, I know.” The two press on to find their foes and fight them.

Inside the backroom, the Enforcers sit by Morris and look upon his treasure: a silver orb with inactive LED lights built into it. It is held up by four rectangular prisms built into the briefcase that holds it. Morris explains, “This baby can cover the length of… ehhh, two… three… football fields.”

The Enforcers look at each other and say together, “Dayum.”

Morris chuckles with a squint to his eyes: “Dayum indeed. Name your rate.”

Damon pulls out a heavy silver briefcase of his own. “It’ll be big. How’s… Bedlam gave us… this briefcase?”

Morris opens it to see a green glow emanate from within and exit throughout the backroom. He grins with the green shining on his face. He dare not touch it just yet. He applauds the absent Bedlam and tells the Enforcers, “With that much, you want a pack of gum too? Take it n’ go!” He hands the Enforcers the briefcase with the forcefield generator and laughs. “Ride the waves that this baby’ll generate.”

The pirates waltz into the backroom, feigning drunkness with their method acting, and the short one, who certainly isn’t Max, asks, “Care to spare this Christmas season?”

Elmer looks around and asks his friends and associates, “Who let the pirates in?”

The taller definitely-not-Chloe-Price pirate tells him with an arm around his shoulder, “We’re not pirates, we don’t steal!”

The smaller totally-not-Max-Caulfield pirate adds, with another arm around the shoulder, “All we want is some change, y’feel?”

Damon crosses his arms and states, “Rhyming? That’s new too.”

Tangi laughs while holding the forcefield briefcase close to his chest: “Shit, got you all rhymed out!”

The not-Chloe pirate exclaims, “You betcha, Tangi! That’s how it can be!”

Tangi’s smile leaves his face. The Happy Clown realizes swiftly, “… How do you know my… YOU TWO.”

The certainly-not-Chloe pirate asks, clearly confused, “Me? Me who?”

Her not-girlfriend, not-Max, asks, “Us?”

Tangi, now a rather flustered clown, answers, “You know- g-get her!” Lord Laundry flies at the two girls, tearing away the pirate disguises covering their faces. From within her coat, Max pulls out a metal poker - with a blunted blade - and pushes away the Lord. Tangi turns to Morris and tells him happily, “Pleasuredoinbusinesswithyaaaa!” He runs out of the backroom as his Enforcer friends follow behind him.

Morris grabs a glass of whiskey and raises it for him. “You’re welcome.”

Sheldon follows the group into the main area of the Klub where the fight has spilled into. He sees something else about the fight: That girl… The one who spilled his beer all those years ago! Angrily, he yells at Chloe, “You spilled my beer!”

As Chloe punches Damon Merrick in the face, she turns to Sheldon and spitefully tells him, “Oh my god. Get over it!” She hops to her feet, grabs a barstool and throws it at Pike’s sneering face, knocking him to the ground. She smiles at this and reflects upon it: “Spanner in the works, baby.” Quickly, the duo charge out into the night.

Outside, the Enforcers hop into their sports car proudly and drive off with Tangi at the captain’s wheel. Elmer urges him on, “Go, go, go!” They drive away with their claim, leaving Max and Chloe in the dust.

In the car, Damon wipes his sweaty forehead. He says, filled with adrenaline, “That was close! As! Shit!”

On the street, Max pulls out her cell phone, so as to phone a friend: “You’re up, Dan.”

Smiling like an idiot, Tangi asks, “What’s the quickest way home…” Lord Laundry pulls Damon’s phone out of his pocket and shows him a map, leading home. And also distracting him. “Take a left on Redleg Lane, drive for five hundred feet, turn right onto Mantle and Asteroid, we’re right on track! This calls… for MUSIC!” Tangi claps his hands… and no music. He sighs and puts on the radio, which plays some of Two Door Cinema Club’s single, “Something Good Can Work”. Tangi sings along as he blasts down Redleg Lane:

“ _ Let’s make this happen, girl! _

_ We gotta-show-the-world-that-something-good-can-work _

_ And-it-can-work-for-you for yoooou, and you-know-that-it-will, _ ”

Tangi looks at his friends and demands, “Eh, c’mon, sing along!” They don’t sing as the song continues, much to his chargin. So he does:

“ _ Let’s get this started, girl, _

_ We’re-moving-up, we’re-moving-up _

_ It’s been a lot to change, but yooou will always get what you wa _ -”

“TANGI!” Tangi looks forward as he drifts right onto Mantle and Android.

Right onto the path of a young mother with a stalled car.

Everyone - the Enforcers and the mother alike - scream “AAAAAAAAAH!” as collison seems inevitable.

Until it isn’t.

The car is pulled back, away from the woman, by what would be a hook. Except there is no hook - no tangible one anyways. Elmer asks, as an airbag rests up against his face, “The hell? Who did- I- what?”

Behind the sports car, a young boy in red superhero armor and a red wolf mask stands with his open palm outstretched. He yells to the mother, “You’re safe, Chris’s mom! I mean, Mrs. Eriksen! The Superwolf is here to save the day!”

Damon rolls his eyes, annoyed at this masked avenger’s appearance: “Oh, Christ’s sake.”

A blond man marches out of a nearby house, armed with an iron baseball bat. He asks of the mother, “Emma, are you okay?”

The two embrace and Emily tells her husband, “I’m fine, Charlie! Let’s go home!”

“Whoa, hey, no need to run, you two!” As the two run off, they are blocked by Damon and Lord Laundry.

Charles stands in front of his wife, ready to take down the zombie and his dirty laundry. Suddenly, the two get blasted away by an invisible burst of energy.

The Superwolf runs along, chasing Tangi and Elmer into the forests nearby. Damon and the Lord follow but Daniel isn’t concerned with them just yet. They’re meant to get away anyways, so a headstart is in order. He turns to the Eriksens - husband Charles and wife Emily - and advises to them, “Stay careful! Ooh, and take care of Captain Spirit! He’s my friend!”

Entering the nearby woods, the villains run and Tangi yells, “RUN!”

At their frosty feet, the villains spot branches gently bursting through the ground, letting themselves be seen only those Bedlam wishes: the baddies. They speak in whispers, “Follow the thornssss…”

In the distance, Daniel yells in the darkness, “Get back heeeeere!”

“Follow the thornssss…”

“We heard ya!”

Within several seconds, the villains vanish into the night, out of Daniel’s line of sight. Bedlam’s branches vanish, not to be seen or followed by unwanted eyes “Gone.”

* * *

Days Until Christmas: 8

The pieces are moving back in Arcadia Bay, on Overlook Avenue with Kate and Victoria packing their travel bags in the wee early morning hours. Victoria asks, dressed in puffy winter clothing, “You’re all packed, Katie?”

Kate nods and tells her with a confident smile, “I’m packed.” She too is dressed for the winter, just as Victoria is.

Victoria steps over to her wife and kisses her on the forehead, saying, “Good. Now, just to-” She looks to her car keys in the kitchen and sees Max and Chloe, arms crossed and smiling in front of the counter with the keys on them. She smiles at the two and asks cautiously, “Heyyyy. How’s it hanging?”

Max explains, “We just got back from Beaver Creek. The bad guys got away but we got a hint of their plan for Christmas.”

Victoria hums along, adding, “Yeah. Nice…” She looks at the duo, and she looks at Kate. And she sighs, stroking her forehead nervously. “Holy shit, Christmas is almost a week away.”

Max nods, seeing Victoria’s upset at the events unfolding. “Now seems like a good time to get away from it all. Me and Chloe are working on a plan to get evacuation underway. With a death god, things could get messy.” Max looks behind her friends where she sees their bags. “You’re waiting for one of us to comment on the bags, aren’t you?”

Victoria looks at Kate again and laughs along. She stutters as Kate shrugs her shoulders: “Kinda, w- we wanted t-”

Chloe grabs Victoria’s keys and walks over to her, telling her with faux frustration, “‘Whoa, hey, how dare you run awaaaay. I thought we were all frieeeends. Raaaaah.’ There, now that we’ve got all the angsty arguing out of the way, just tell us what’s up.”

Victoria is shaking and Kate is holding her hand, soothing her troubles. “I’m scared of all this armageddon shit. I don’t want to be a part of it, and fate can eat a dick if it gets pissed!”

Chloe sighs and smiles at Victoria, telling her, “Hey, you’re not entirely wrong about fate. Fuck… them?” Chloe hands Victoria her keys and the pixie-cut girl graciously accepts them.

Max steps forward with Chloe and their friends. She adds, “I get it. And, y’know what? I don’t blame you for a sec-ond. Where are you guys headed?”

Kate jumps in for Victoria, to let her take a breather, “Uhhh… New York. We want to go there and have adventures, live life, maybe come back.”

“Or settle down.”

Kate snaps her fingers and caresses the back of Victoria’s head. “That too.”

Max grasps Victoria’s shoulder and smirks at her. She informs the two sternly and warmly - a mix of the two - “You’ll pass through… A lot of states. That’ll be tough. But pretty. I bet it’d make a nice photo op, some nice subjects to draw. Maybe a bit boring. But beautiful either way. You’ll reach the Big Apple before Christmas, even if you take your time, and also before… well, the Agency party.”

Under her breath, Victoria grumbles, “Shit.”

Max puts her hands up and adds, “Hey, I’m not saying not to go on your adventure. You two should enjoy yourselves. Please do. And please be careful.”

Victoria hugs Max and Chloe, much to their surprises. “You too.” She motions to her bags and both her and Kate grab them. They prepare for the door. Victoria looks back at her friends and says with a wave, “Au revoir.”

Victoria steps out of the door with the keys and the bags in her hands. Kate tells the two with a joyful smile and a nod, “Good luck.”

Both Max and Chloe march along to hug Kate, embracing her. “Thank you, Kate.”

Within minutes, the wives are gone - out of the apartment - down to the lobby - out into the streets - and into Victoria’s new car.

Within several seconds, the wives drive away, headed for the East. Off to places unknown!


	5. Christmas Shopping

Days Until Christmas: 7

Inside the indoors theater of Blackwell Academy, a mass of roughly two dozen red seats have been taken up by the friendly faces whom Max and Chloe have done their best to know.

Warren Graham asks of Rog, the pigeon soldier formerly associated with the Agency of Metahuman Containment, “So how’s being a bird doing you?”

“I just laid my first eggs! Didn’t seem like the big deal that the ladies make it out to be.” A paper ball hits Rog in the face, knocking him down a peg and into his seat. The shooter, Dana Ward, grins smugly at her marksmanship before turning to converse with her old friend, Arcadia Bay reporter Juliet Watson..

Below them, Naton the Normal-Man, evolved past barbarism, says to the leaders of the Mars-based Merry Marauders, Captain Starsight and First Mate Noctarious, as he holds a flare gun, “This is a good gun. I like it!”

Starsight smiles without a face, instead his bulbous eye’s iris enlarging, “I betcha do, warrior.” He pulls out a gun of his own: a red revolver shotgun with antimatter rounds. “Get a load of this.”

Naton’s eyes shimmer as he gazes upon the gun. Barbarism returns to him only briefly as he exclaims, “Me want it!”

Starsight turns to Noctarious and the two shrug amongst each other. The pupil pirate looks at Naton and tells him gleefully, “You gets it in exchange for yer gun! Merry Christ-Mass, as you humans put it.” He hands his interstellar gun to Naton in exchange for the earthly gun.

Below them, Daniel Diaz the elder affably asks of Jumbo next to him, “Wooooah. You play Uno on the phone tooooo?”

The scarfed superhero timidly tells the crimson crusader, barely turning to look at the boy, “Of course.” He quickly returns to his game of online Uno on his phone while also chugging a bottle of a baby brand’s chocolate milk, meant to improve growth and bone strength.

Looking past this oddity, Daniel probes further with, “What’s your gamertag? Mine is Lobo4Life.”

Jumbo sighs, wiping milk from his maw. “GBiggs201.”

“39KMAll.” Daniel looks past Jumbo to see the young monk K’mai, with his phone on Uno too. He says, “I play Uno too, guys.”

Daniel pulls out his phone and tells the two with a smug smile behind his red wolf’s mask, “Let’s game.” And just like that, the three get on the same game and innocuously play as one.

As the crowd gets to know one another, Max and Chloe step up on stage with a small metal ball in the short girl’s right hand. She waves at her friends. That is all she needs to get their attention. She looks at Chloe and looks at the crowd, saying, “Hi, welcome to the meeting. Also, happy holidays!”

The crowd beams joy in her and Chloe’s general direction:

“Yeah!” “Happy holidays to you too!” “Thank you!”

“You’re all very welcome. I’ve called you all here because, within a week, the world will be facing its end. And we’re here to tell the end to go away. Forever. So let me summarize the next couple of days with what I’ve seen in my dreams, and what I’ve seen from other people’s accounts.” Max drops the ball onto the floor beneath her and it glows, displaying holographic information regarding Arcadia Bay’s geographic position. A mass of “X”s pop up over the Arcadia Bay Cemetery.

“On Christmas Eve, Bedlam will begin his attack on Arcadia Bay by raising the dead, starting at the cemetery. He’ll lead these zombies into town, killing everyone and everything in his path. And he’ll turn them into zombies as well. It’ll be bad, and we’ll be leading the charge against them. Now, I know what you’re thinking: ‘End of days? Oh man, we won’t win without sacrifice.’”

Chloe jumps in to continue: “But that’s just some binary bullshit of the past. Now is the time we all get our happy ending. And we’ll get it by beating these zombies - not dying at all - and making sure no one else dies. All so that, on Christmas morning, we’ll drag Bedlam down Arcadia Bay Avenue and get him the HELL out of our town! Now, here’s the plan…”

Drinking out of a water bottle, Max adds, “It requires all of us to armor up, arm up, and put on our game faces. And we’ll have to get everyone who can’t fight out of town with an evacuation. Me, Chloe, and David will work with everyone up on the Town Council to get them all to evacuate. Juliet will spread the word through the news and I’ll meet with a bunch of you guys to grab any weapons, armor, booze I can from the Transect - it’s a little space between spaces, except it’s in between timelines instead - so we’ll go there and grab stuff. Then, it’s all in our hands. I mean, isn’t it always?”

Chloe sighs and looks at the crowd, caringly of course. “Now, if you want, you don’t have to partake in this battle. Leaving amongst the evacuation efforts will be perfectly understandable. And I won’t be mad. But I would like to see you all join me on the front lines. We’ll have your backs. You’ll have each others’ backs too. We fight as one, for Arcadia Bay. And for the future of the world. Now, who’s with us?”

Silence falls over the crowd… For a second. Then, they speak:

“Aye.” “Me too!” “Count me in!” “Sure, why not?” “Yeah!”

The crowd sings their praises as Chloe puts an arm around Max’s shoulder and plops a kiss on her forehead.

* * *

The Yellowstone Hotel is surrounded by giant oak trees, caked in the forest’s fresh supply of snow. Victoria stands on the balcony of the hotel, looking at a photograph of it amongst a small album of other photographs. Photographs of her and Kate on the road, in Idaho and Wyoming. Kate strokes her back and asks gently, “How do you think things are going back home?”

Victoria looks at her and tells her, “My guess is Max probably has some big plan in mind to save the world. I hope it does.”

Kate laughs and Victoria inquisitively looks at her. “Wow, good guess. That’s actually something me and her talked about, only a little bit. It sounded interesting.” A pause comes along as the two look to the forests. “But I’ll just shut up about all that end of the world ‘malarkey’. I wanna be here with you.”

The two pull each other closer and Victoria adds, “Likewise.” The two keep on holding on… until the cold begins settling in, so they head back inside, into their cozy hotel room.

“How long until we get to New York?”

“If we take our time as Max said” Victoria leads Kate back to their queen-size bed and continues there. “For sightseeing, sleeping, catching up on time zones and all that stuff, we’d be there in… about four days?”

Kate puffs, intrigued in the idea of this journey. “Wow.”

“Yeah… But we can always just, like, speed through, rush there. I can do that.” Victoria shrugs her shoulders and smiles.

Kate runs a hand along Victoria’s cheek before saying, “Don’t tire yourself out, Vic. We can rest as you please. Please?”

Victoria nods her head. “Okay.” Victoria yawns, putting a smirk on Kate’s face. “Let’s get some sleep. Big day ahead of us in… Nebraska… Yeeeeah.” Victoria lies down on her side, keeping Kate in sight.

Kate follows her down and tells her, “It can be fun. I mean, we’ve survived Arcadia Bay as it is.” She raises an open palm in the air and darkens the room, letting the natural moonlight outside glow as it does.

* * *

Sean Prescott’s checking his list. He’s checking it a lot. Gonna find out who’s gaudy or not. All to find out who deserves a presence at his party. And his list is long.

The Holloways. “Check, check…”

General Fields. “Check.”

Doctor Court. “Check.”

The Chases. “Check, check… hrm…” Victoria Chase, crudely written in red ink. He thinks to himself: “ _ All three? But Colin and Zara said she was uninterested… Eh. _ ” He shrugs his shoulders and… “Check. JUMPER!”

The Jumper pops into his office and salutes him. “Yes, sir?”

Sean adjusts the glasses on his face and asks, “Are you finished feeding the Dawgs for the night?”

“Yes, sir.”

Sean smiles and collapses his hands together. “Good. Now, new task! See to it that my guests arrive promptly three days prior to the party. They will stay at the Charioteers Hotel off Exit 6.”

The Jumper salutes once more. “Yes, sir!” He takes the list and reads it down, up to the red ink. “Ah, sir, she said she didn’t want to come.”

“Well, her parents RSVP’d for her and I ordered a specific number of chairs for all my guests. And extra unused chairs would be extra money to the chairs guys.”

Sheepishly, the Jumper asks, “But what if she can’t come?”

Prescott scowls and growls. “I’m the Party Man. If someone comes, they come. I don’t care if they’re dying on a gutter.” He pauses and reflects on it with a bobbing of his head. “Scratch that, I… Do. I don’t care if they’re… sick with typhus. They will come!” He lowers his voice and adds calmly, “Uh… please.”

The Jumper salutes Prescott proudly. “Yes, sir.” He pops out of the office as the Prescott patriarch kicks his feet up onto his desk and smiles to himself.


	6. Hard Travelling Heroines

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Very, very sorry for the long delay, I've been busy with pesky papers and a bit of burnout! Anyways, enjoy!

Days Until Christmas: 6

"I spy with my little eye something red." Kate cups her hand over her eye like a telescope, spying the red mountains of Nebraska that surround her and Victoria. She shifts her gaze onto Victoria as she drives them down a lone highway.

Behind the wheel, Victoria groans. But she still plays along, saying with a chipper tone to her voice, "These mountains."

Kate smirks. Intensifying her stare, she asks, "But which one?"

Passing by a mountain tinges the two of them in dark red shadow. And there are more mountains on the way. A lot of them. "Aaaall of themmmm."

* * *

“_ Breaking News, Bayers, on this chilly day! Local photographer Max Caulfield captures shocking image of a strange monster lurking around the shut-down grounds of Blackwell Academy! The creature can only be described as a sleek horse-like beast with sheet-like skin. He also drops confetti as he moves. This is Juliet Watson, ABB Local. _”

* * *

Passing by the endless green fields of Iowa bores Victoria. But Kate has her covered: "I've got another joke."

Victoria sighs, but not angrily. Playfully, rather. "Lay it on me."

"What did the sheep say to the restless farmer?"

Victoria shrugs her shoulders, asking, “I dunno. What?”

“It looks to me like you had a baaaaad dream.” Kate laughs to herself.

“Heh. Good one.” Victoria fixes her sights on the road as the sun starts setting.

* * *

“_ Breaking News… again, Bayers! This just in, the Nudist STREAKS again! Convicted felon and infamous nudist Newman D. Schwartz has been taken into custody after barging into the Arcadia Bay Helper Shelter, nude as usual and armed with a longsword believed to formerly belong to Ezekiel Blackwell himself, reading from a handwritten manifesto: ‘the Sun is blue and I am nude. The end of the world is coming and it should be known.’ He said all this, and some incoherent French, before being talked down and led away by local janitor Samuel Taylor, who also spoke in incoherent French. This could mean many things, or it could mean nothing. But one thing is for certain: the end of the world will come one day. So we should all be wary of that. This is Juliet Watson, ABB Local. _”

* * *

Finally, a city under the moonlight of night. And a hotel off in the distance. Victoria smiles and exclaims, “Woo-hoo. Springfield. The home of- Okay, we need to pull over here. I'm sleepy." She pulls into a parking lot and parks under the neon green Hotel 305 sign. “Damn timezones messing with me.”

The two step out of the car and move onto the trunk, which Victoria opens with her keys. She tiredly tells her wife, "What a day. What do you think Max and Chloe are doing back home now?"

Kate smiles at her and casually tells her, "Probably working on a plan."

While grabbing some luggage, Victoria says, “Wow, some plan. Look at this.” She shows Kate her phone, which is on Max’s Instagram page and shows her, as the photograph’s caption claims, “_ smoking some mistletoe with Chloe by the Lighthouse _”.

Kate chortles along with Victoria as the two smile in the snowy lands around them. “Oh, those two.” They march onward to the lobby of the hotel, where warmth and a good night’s sleep awaits them.

* * *

“_ Hiya, Arcadia Bay! Breaking News! My name is Dana Ward and I am taking over for Juliet while she takes a nap in the breakro- oh, no, no talking about that? Okay, anyways, strange noises have been heard from the Water Filtration System just a few miles out of town. Something, something, stay away from that area please. Also, have you all thought of maaaaaybe taking a flight out of the Bay to somewhere sunny? Just a thought. ‘Kay, good night, Arcadia Bay and anyone else who may be tuned into ABB Local!” _ Dana walks away, exiting stage right.

_ “Okay, c’mon, Juliet. Let’s go. _” Dana walks away with Juliet, exiting stage left.

* * *

Days Until Christmas: 5

Late morning comes and the two wives are off to the races where the East Coast and New York City await. It is out of Illinois into Indianapolis.

The winds are rough as the car braves the winter ahead. They speed from the countryside into town. The engine revs along into the future that is the Eastern Time Zone until it starts to _ chugchugchugchugchugchug _

Uh oh. _ chkchkchkchk _

"No way. No fucking way! The car's doing that… that thing!” The car stops doing that thing and starts slowing down, to which Victoria blankly says, “Shit.” Hurriedly, she pulls over as it halts wholly. She takes a deep breath and yells, “Aaaargh, it's broken!”

Kate smiles and holds her hands, softly telling her, "Calm down, Victoria. Calm down. We'll call someone. Maybe a nice trucker can give us advice or a ride."

* * *

FIVE MINUTES LATER

An old man trucker whistles at the sight of the dead engine: "Yeah. Your car is… dead."

Something inside Victoria - the dam containing her endless pettiness and rage - snaps. She grabs the air in front of her face with the ferocity of an enraged duck and growls under her breath. "RRRRRGH-IS-DA-THIRD-ONE-UHHHH-OH-MY-GODDDD-DAHHHH"

Kate looks at the trucker and asks, “Can you give us a lift? To Manhattan?”

The trucker sighs and tells her, “I’m not headed back East for another two weeks. I’m very, very sorry.”

“Thank you, mister.”

The trucker tips his cap and tells her, “The name’s Anton.” He walks back to his truck, parked in front of Victoria’s car, as Kate sighs in defeat. “Good luck on your journey!” And he’s off to his next destination, wherever it may be.

Before Victoria can start foaming at the mouth, Kate rubs her back and soothingly tells her, "It's okay. I brought my backup."

Victoria lowers her claws and shakes, ready to erupt. She looks at Kate with a fake grin and widened eyes - barely containing the rage of a thousand burning cashmere coats - and asks, "B-backup? W-w-what could POSSIBLY be our BACKUP?"

Kate rushes to the trunk and opens it to grab her luggage as Victoria follows her. She opens her bag and whips out her old teal scooter. It shines as a ray of sunshine hits it and she raises it into the air.

Victoria sighs.

Victoria cries. For a second or two.

Victoria walks right into her wife’s arms.

Kate holds her, and hugs her, and whispers to her, “Baby, ohhhh… It’s okay. We’re gonna be okay, we’re gonna make it to New York in no time. Don't you remember about my… powers?"

"Obviously, but I- I- Oh!" The lightbulb in Victoria’s brain glimmers. “Oh my God, you're a genius! Is it safe?”

Kate strokes her chin and grins, telling her, "I'd imagine so. I've only done a few tests with Max and Chloe. And I almost crashed in one of them."

“Let's practice a bit. Slowly. Take your time, and no pressure. We can practice in some abandoned parking lot.”

* * *

ANOTHER FIVE MINUTES LATER

Donuts are done in some abandoned parking lot. Lots of donuts. All thanks to Victoria and Kate’s new light-based Punch Buggy. To control it, Kate rides her scooter as usual, but now with the extra effort of having to control the glowing aura of a Punch Buggy that contains it.

Inside, the two gleefully scream, “WHEEEE!” The duo spin around and speed in the deserted place, enjoying it greatly.

Kate enjoys it especially as a ramp enters her line of sight. She tells Victoria, “I’M GONNA DO A FLIP!”

Victoria laughs and smiles as she holds Kate’s stomach for safety… until she realizes: “Wait, you said a flip?” She stops laughing and smiling, and starts saying, “Oh god!”

“Hang on tight!” Victoria, seeing no way out, does so tightly but also tenderly. The moment is one she would like to live in forev-

Kate kicks at the floor beneath her and guns it onto the ramp. The Light-Punch-Buggy reaches its target and flies into the air, spinning forward as it does so. It slices through the cold winter winds and keeps on spinning.

And then it lands. Safe and sound.

For a few hours, the two practice more. And the thrill just doesn’t die.

Several hours later, the sun has set on Indianapolis as the wives wrap up their practice. Victoria tells Kate, “Okay, you’ve passed the drivers test. Congrats!”

The LPB slows to a halt and Kate smiles. “Thank you.”

The two smile. And smile. And keep on smiling. And look into each other’s eyes… Until Kate looks down at her stomach. “You can let go now.”

“Oh. Sorry.” Victoria lets go of Kate and the LPB fades into the night. She crosses her arms as the cold hits them and asks, “So, what are we to do now that you’ve got this pat down?”

Playfully, Kate smirks at her: “We can… celebrate?”

“Sssounds like a p-p-plan! Come on over to WQGU’s VCCC, if you can!” The two look over to the source of the voice: behind a gate stands a stout monkey dressed as a ringmaster with a red coat and a big hat. He’s freezing his ass off as he shivers in the cold.

“Ah… all-ow me to introd-duce myself… Name’s Josiah!”

Victoria raises an eyebrow and asks, “You’re an eccentric drug dealer furry?”

“No, I’m a real animal! Party animal! Trying to get into the Vortex Club n’ they wan’ me to-”

“Vortex Club?” Victoria rushes over to Josiah and glares at him, demanding he explain just with her steps.

Through his shivering teeth, Josiah explains, “Yeah. They’re these super cool guys who hang out around campus and I wanna get in. Also here’s a flyer.” He’s as clueless as any Vortex Club member, regardless of state line differences. He passes a flyer to Victoria through the gate and she grabs it to read:

_ Wesley Q. Garrison University’s Vortex Club _

_ Presents _

_ THE VORTEX CLUB CHRISTMAS CRASH _

_ December 20th, 2014 _

_ 8 PM - 4 AM _

_ 117 Park Lane _

_ Guys $10 | Girls Free _

_ Prices Double at Midnight _

_ Dress To Impress! Winky face. _

Old habits thrive far, apparently. Victoria blankly crushes the paper, annoyed at their existence… She then uncrumples it, because she has to know where to go. She looks back to Kate and asks, “Baby, do you have those earplugs with you?” Kate nods her head and Victoria nods back before turning to Josiah to ask him, “So they make you wear a silly costume and dance in abandoned parking lots in this weather?” Josiah nods. Victoria’s jaw drops. “The fuck is wrong with them?”

Josiah tells her, “I don’t see anything wrong with that.”

“Of course you don’t. Take us to them.” Victoria grips onto the gate and starts trying to pull herself up. Both Kate and Josiah look at her as she makes slow progress. They look at each other before Kate fades into the night and re-manifests on the other side of the gate, standing right next to Josiah.

The monkey sighs and tells her, “Uh, of course” as she makes her way to the top of the gate. She steps over, tripping as she does. As she falls to the ground, Kate snaps her fingers and makes a mattress to save her. “I must let them know in advance. Who are you two?”

Victoria hops up to her feet and dusts herself off. With herself cleaned, she crosses her arms and tells him bluntly: “This is my lovely wife, Kate Marsh. And I am Victoria Chase. Former Co-President of Blackwell Academy’s Vortex Club…”

As the two smile at him, Josiah asks, with a cross look on his face, “How old are you two to be married?”

Victoria squints at him. “How cold are you to be asking questions to a Vortex Club alumnus?” She laughs and swats at the air in front of her face: “Just kidding. We’re gonna give you a jacket. And don’t tell me that your Vortex Club said you can’t wear it. We’ll make the rules now… or we’ll try.”

“Yeah, I figured.” The LPB returns on the street behind the three and Kate rushes over to the trunk to grab a jacket for Josiah. She finds a puffy green one and tosses it to him. “Thank you.” He puts it on and the three rush off to the party.

* * *

The streets of downtown Indianapolis bump with pop music as Kate skates on her scooter with Victoria and Josiah hanging on behind her. Their light-shell tears through the snow that has lightly caked the streets over the course of the season. The nightly prowlers look at the car in astonishment and confusion. _ What is this car, this Light-Punch-Buggy? Is it even real? Can we touch it? _

The LPB reaches its destination. “This looks like the place, Katie.” A brownstone apartment complex with music bumping inside. Across the street is Highland Park, a nice green spot with quiet away from the loud.

Josiah looks at the party with unease. “What are you going to do?”

“Do what I always do.” Victoria snaps her fingers and smiles at the two. “I’ll be the boss.”

“I’ll stay here with Josiah. He’s spent enough time with those people.”

The two wives kiss and Victoria says, “I’ll be quick. Promise.” She steps out the LPB, proudly marching past the onlookers around the car. She heads up to the front door where a buff Samoan stands guard.

“You know the drill - ID, name, blah blah blah.” Victoria starts pulling out her ID, but the Samoan puts his hands up: “I kid, kid. Who are you?”

“I’m Victoria Chase.” Nothing out of the guard. “Blackwell Academy?”

He clicks his teeth. “Now, that’s a place I know. Never heard of ya though.”

“Really? I saved the town from a cult leader back in May.”

The Samoan’s eyes widen in shock. “Damn. And to think, Damon Merrick was the big bad wolf back there.”

“Eh, he’s not too hard to deal with. Still a dick.”

The guard raises an eyebrow, and justifiably so considering Damon is more of a “was” problem and not an “is” problem. Regardless, he shakes it off and tells her, “C’mon in”, as he steps aside for Victoria. She walks inside and looks around as the memories of parties flood back to her. “Oh, and when ya get back, tell the new Chloe I say ‘hi’ for me. We’re Facebook friends.”

She turns around and tells him, “Will do… you?”

“The name’s Rodney! Have fun in there!”

Victoria moves in more and puts on her earplugs, the party is raging. Pop music from the future - Galantis’ “No Money” - blares through the air. She likes it. She also likes that weed and beer smell that’s floating in the air. _ Just like old times… _, she thinks to herself.

It’s also crowded as hell and lit in neon light, as it would always be. She shimmies past partygoers of all shapes and sizes, where there is peace to be found within the madness. Friendships that can’t be broken, young love, shit talking and bad dancing.

“Hey, wu-wu-watch out there, Lady-ah!” Victoria pauses as a man with a red LED visor and a dual mohawk turns to see who bumped into him. But he sees Victoria and says, “Ooooh, shiiiiit, it’s Vicky Chase! Zorro about bein’ messo!” He offers his hand for a shake.

She gives him his hand, which he does shake, and asks bluntly, “What?”

“Woooah, talk about the Twilight Zone, catbird!” He snaps his fingers to reveal a cigarette in his hand. She loves those shits. “Have a cig! Ow-meh!”

Victoria takes it and asks, “Who are you?”, as she lits her cigarette.

The future man flexes his biceps and tells her, “I’m Yolie’s little bro, Requis! From da year 2019… I’m here to party in one of these, yizzy-yo! Otherwise, I’d be doin’ that Geom Dos Ho-Wo for Grado Ocho!”

Victoria squints at him, asking herself, _ What the fuck did this guy just say? _ “I’m guessing Yolie runs the Vortex Club.”

He gives her two thumbs up: “Right antsy, Nancy!”

As she nods her head, a girl stumbles into a table, catching Victoria’s eye. She turns and asks, “Hey, are you okay?”

With vomit on her mouth, the young lady explains, “Meee? Fiiine, doin’ fiiii- ACK!” And there goes some more vomit on the floor.

Anxiously, Victoria grabs a bottle of water that Requis tosses to her and hands it to the girl. “Have some water, please. What’s your name?”

In between sips of the bottle, she lets out a meek “Terry.”

“Okay, Requis, help Terry please.”

Requis salutes her and says, “No problemo, Vick-o!” Quickly, he helps her to one of the bathrooms as Victoria looks around the party in search of Yolie.

Then, she hears her: “Goddamnit, another fuckin’ lightweight. There goes her chances of getting in.” “Terry’s not even that hoooot.” “She’s smart. Just not good with… what is this, piss water?” “We tried getting the good shit, but funds are low, Maya.” It’s upstairs. So Victoria runs upstairs, up two flights of stairs into the VIP lounge.

A bored girl sits in her way at a table. With bubble gum in her mouth, she looks up at Victoria and asks, “You’re that girl ‘monkey boy’ told us about?”

Victoria nods her head. And Yolie sees her, shrilly stating, “Oh my gooood, you’re Victoria Chase!”

Rather unimpressed, Victoria tells her, with a wave of her hands around her body, “In the flesh.”

Drunkenly marching past the table girl, she explains, “I’m Yolie Ramirez, head of the Vortex Club WQGU. What brings you here, gurl?” She wags her finger to let her know, “_ Enter the Vortex. _” Inside awaits the Inner Council - other rich kids from around town who have had the “““privilege””” of getting accepted.

Victoria grins at these people, this inner council of VCWQGU, and awkwardly waves at them. “_ Ugh, let’s get this over with. _” “Well, I’m here to talk about how you initiate people. It’s a little messy.”

Putting down a cup of crisp cider, Yolie rubs her nose and asks, “Oh, you’re talking about Future-Requis and his ‘Winky Face’ mess-up? He’s not all okay up there. And he’s not even an initiate, so it’s not on us.”

“No. Though that’s a good saying; ‘Insert-Emotion-Here Face’. Use it more, it’s good stuff. But I’m here to talk about Josiah.”

Under her breath, Yolie mutters a “shit” and shifts back into her smile. “The Possum Springs monkey boy? Yeah, he told me you were coming… What about him?”

While puffing on her cigarette, Victoria explains, “He’s a good guy. At least from what I’ve seen. Just, to cut to the chase, why are you having him dress like a clown in this weather?”

Yolie laughs: “He’s not a clown. He’s a ringmaster, like the ones with those elephants.”

Victoria rolls her eyes, annoyed. “Okay, either way, it’s cold as shit out there. He could die!”

“That would suck, definitely. Don’t get me wrong, We’re not heartless. But we’ve all been through that, and we haven’t died. It ain’t THAT cold out there. It’s only us, the Vortex Club, who have to be so cold, so above the winter.”

While crossing her arms, Victoria explains, “Last I checked, doing that shit is illegal. And also really fucked up. And also, no offense, but I think you’re bluffing about doing that too.”

Yolie laughs, hiding her anger - something Victoria once knew to do all too well - and shoots back, “Hey, you guys were lighter about getting in. We’re not. We give a damn about who gets in.”

“And I don’t blame you. But this isn’t the way. In fact, there are A LOT of things with this Vortex Club that aren’t ‘the way’!”

Yolie groans and yells, “You paved ‘the way’, gurl!” She and her Inner Council sneer at her and add, “You and your… your asshole friends. Bet you didn’t think we’d know, huh? You fucked up just as we did! But at least we don’t kill our classmates, so DON’T pull this holier-than-thou bullshit on us!”

Victoria steps up to Yolie, getting in her face, and asks sincerely, “If I don’t, who will?” Silence falls on them all. In a harsh tone, Victoria adds, “I’ve fucked up a lot. And trust me, the shit I’d let go down should’ve come down on me much harder. Even if I didn’t know about it, or caused it directly. But that just means I have to do everything I can to stop bad shit like what happened to Rachel Amber, to Chloe Price, to Katie, I have to stop it from happening. I know you’re young, and I know you’ll tell me… Uh, probably tell me to leave when I’m done, but you can be better.” Victoria plants a hand on the younger girl’s shoulder and asks her, dearly and sincerely, “Please.”

“So, what, we just shut this whole shit down?”

“No. The Vortex Club used to be better. And not just with parties, I mean with helping people. Sticking up for the little guy and shit like that. Of course, you can party, but we can’t bring people down or treat everyone like shit. We need to inspire people. Okay?”

“Okay.”

Victoria opens her arms while asking, “Wanna hug it out?” Silence out of Yolie, though she knows she has changed, even if only a little bit. As she lowers her arms, she continues, “Alright, I guess I’ll get going. But please, heed what I say. You’re a good kid, and your brother looks up to you. Don’t let him down.” She turns her back to the Vortex Club and starts walking away. But before she goes, she bids her “Au revoir.”

Yolie waves her goodbye, saying, “Adios.”

And like that, Victoria makes her way through the house to the exit. Before she goes, she spots Terry and Requis in a bathroom. The young partier sleeps with the empty water bottle, her body kept extra warm with a dry towel, as Requis keeps an eye on her. “How’s she doing?”

Giving Victoria a “rock on” hand sign, the future man explains coolly, “She’s gone off into that sleep-dream, dudette. She’ll be a-okie-dokie!”

“Good. Take care of her, and everyone else around here. And also your sister.”

“You got it!” As Victoria marches on out of the house, Requis exclaims, “Good luck, Vic! With that ‘end of the world’ shit! I can’t spill too many beans, but I’ll give you the scoop! Spoiler alert: You and your bro-hams save the world togetheeeer!”

Victoria laughs to herself, and turns back to Requis as he gives her a supportive thumbs-up. “Thank you. How so?”

“Heheh, can’t saaaay.” Requis grins, hoping to reassure Victoria about… something.

Victoria scoffs playfully and asks with a smile, “Really? Nothing?”

Requis shakes his head to tell her, “Nada!”

Victoria lets out a sigh but smiles nonetheless. “Fine. You take care, man.”

As she leaves, for real this time, Requis gives her the “rock on” hand sign and exclaims, “Shine on, lady!” And quickly, he returns to Terry’s aid.

Victoria walks out of the house, into the street, and into Kate’s LPB where she and Josiah are sitting on the scooter in wait. Kate perks up upon seeing her wife and asks, happily, “What’s up?”

“I talked to their leader. Here’s hoping for some New Years changes. And speaking of New Years, we’ve got to get to the Ball.” Nothing. “The Ball. The one in New York City.” Kate lets out a soft “oooh” while nodding her head.

Josiah claps his hands. “Oh, you’re going East. Cool beans. Because. I need a ride home. ACHOO! Also, I’m sick, and home will help.”

Victoria looks at Josiah and points at him, while smoking her cigarette: “You're from Possum Springs, right?”

Josiah brightens up and says, “Yeah. Pennsylvania. How’d you know?”

Victoria shrugs her shoulders and tells him, “Yolie may have mentioned it.”

Josiah smiles a toothy grin and adds, with a chortle, “Hah. Nice. Can I get a lift please?”

Victoria raises an eyebrow and Kate smirks at her. Ultimately, the two shrug amongst each other and Kate tells him, “I say yes. It's on the way, we might as well.”

Victoria delivers a salute to Kate and tells her, “Aye aye, captain.”

“Yes. But for now, we’ll get some shut-eye.” The LPB pulls into the park and slowly transforms into a Light-Cabin. And for the night, the trio sleep in warmth under the light.


	7. A New Place

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Life is Strange? And Night In The Woods? In the same fic? Is this a crossover episode?"  
Only for a bit. :)

Days Until Christmas: 4

In the deep forests of Western Pennsylvania, the Light-Punch-Buggy travels down lonely roads in the wee early morning hours of the day.

As Victoria looks around at these Eastern forests, she tells her friends, “I think we’re lost.”

Josiah grins like an idiot, in spite of his sickness, and explains to her, “There’s a saying, back home: ‘You’re not lost - You’re here!’”

Victoria scoffs and, with that early morning annoyedness, asks, “Well, ARE we there yet?”

Josiah shakes his head, “No.” Kate makes a turn onto an exit, and Josiah nods his head, “Yes.” Victoria groans. Not to be angry. Just to play around, as she giggles.

The LPB passes by a sign, one that means they’re out of the woods:

_ Welcome to Possum Springs, Pennsylvania! You’re not lost - you’re here! _

It’s quaint. It’s soft. The air is crisp and the skies are bright, yet covered in clouds. As the car enters town, the two humans see the townsfolk: animals of all manes and musks. And yet, they aren’t unlike them. They wear their clothes, walk their walks, talk their talks, and get to work to make their little world’s economy go round and round. “They’re just like us.”

Josiah tells Victoria, “Yeah, obviously.”

There are also a lot of rats, running along the streets by everyone's feet. They look well-fed.

Smiling at the townsfolk she passes by, Kate asks, “So, where do we take you?”

Rubbing his throat, Josiah tells her, “I live in the Town Centre. Drop me off there, okay?”

And within a few minutes, past a Snack Falcon, an old subway tunnel and a Video Store Too, the LPB reaches Town Centre where townsfolk keep about their days. Kate stops in front of a hardware store - the Ol’ Pickaxe - and lets Josiah step out, wearing some extra clothes that the wives offered him back in Indianapolis. With a sincere smile, he tells them, “Thank you very, ver- ACHOO… Very much. Good luck and have fun in New York!”

Kate smiles and waves to him, “You too! Merry Christmas!” She steps off the scooter and sits on the floor of light that Victoria has lied down on. She tells her, “That was a nice thing we did. And this place, is nice. We should stick around for a while.”

Victoria yawns and tiredly tells her, “Definitely. Besides… It’s Sunday morning.” Kate smirks and looks up at a stairway to the town’s church.

* * *

Even before the crow of the rooster, masses march down onto Arcadia Bay Avenue, dressed for places unknown, somewhere far away from the shitshow that is about to unfold.

Chloe, with a coffee cup in her hands, tells a long line of people just outside of the Two Whales Diner, “Okay, hop in! Hop in! Hop in!” And just like that, a family of five head into a wormhole, shimmering in the night. Two people walk past the line, both ready for battle - Max and… Mayor Abigail Cochran. “Ah, Mayor Cochran! Here to evacuate too?”

Cochran cocks a shotgun and tells Chloe with a look of determination, “The captain stays with her ship.”

Max rolls her eyes, unseen by Cochran as she stands a foot behind her, and Chloe adds, “Uh, you sure? Because we’ve got this.”

Cochran shakes her head almost defiantly. “I must be willing to defend Arcadia Bay with my li-”

Max hops in to tell her, “We won’t blame you. Really.”

As Cochran crosses her arms, Chloe explains, “Yeah. I mean, you’ve got my vote either way.” She playfully glares at the Mayor, adding, “Just, uh, put the good word in with weed, hm?”

She sighs and asks the two, “Are you sure?”

Already annoyed by her, the two yell, “YES!”

“Okay, okay, I’ll grab my husband and we’ll get outta here.” She starts to walk away, but halts. She turns to the two and asks, a bit more worried than determined, “You two are sure that this will work, right?”

Chloe steps aside and mutters under her breath, "Oh, for…"

Max nods her head and places a hand on her shoulder: “We’ve got a high probability of stopping him from destroying the town. We’ve got this. Just go, get, save your husband and yourself.”

Cochran salutes Max and Chloe, triumphantly telling them, “Good luck.”

“Same to you.” And like that, the Mayor walks away past the other Arcadians on the move.

Max looks at Chloe and asks, “You really think this’ll work?”

Chloe tells her girlfriend, with a playful scoff, “No duh, you JUST reassured Miss Mayor!”

Max shakes her hand, adding with some levity, “I know!”

Seeing that little bit of worry on Max’s face brings Chloe just a few steps closer to her. She holds her in a hug and says, “Hey, we’ll survive. Again. Riiiiight?”

Max giggles, melting Chloe’s heart amidst the little lady’s sudden seriousness: “That wasn’t me who killed you-but-not-you.”

“I know.”

“It’s just, there’s a different sacrifice at hand…” Max sighs and, with a smile, reassures Chloe, “And no, it’s neither of us. We’re good.”

Chloe holds Max’s hand and feels the metaphorical frost in her blood. Or maybe it’s the winter. “We’ll deal with it.”

“But it’s not us - God, no… It’s Kate and Vic.”

Chloe feels the freeze in Max’s blood run into her veins too, as she blankly responds, “What?” The idea of sacrifice hits Chloe again, just as it did back by that Lighthouse on that unfortunate Friday afternoon. But seeing Max all worried is what hurts her the most, so she calmly tells her, “We’ll work something out. There’s always a wa-”

“HEEEY! Speed it up, slowpoke!” The two laugh as they spot a spat between an elderly woman with a bunch of luggage on line and a young man with a standard punk’s attire.

The old lady yells back, “Oh, shut up, Henry, I pampered you as a baby!”

Chloe sighs and swiftly gives Max a kiss on the forehead. Max likes that as she smirks and rubs Chloe’s arm. And with that out of the way, the duo march over with Chloe yelling, “No fighting! We’re all going to the same place, and that is ‘Outta Here’!”

Amongst all the townsfolk hearing the yelling is the old ghost of Arcadia; Bedlam, embedded deep within the land's soil as he scouts the town. After all, his plan runs deep within the town's history of loss and death.

He has heard enough. And, with his presence still unknown, he travels through the branches deep under the town’s soil and cement, passing through the Bay up North to the outskirts of Culmination, where his lair and his men await.

Emerging through the ground into the warehouse where his Enforcers are watching some Rankin-Bass Christmas classics, he informs them simply: “They know.”

Tangi, fiddling with a harmonica in a stolen lounge chair, asks, “About?”

“Our mission to glass the Bay.”

The Enforcers all groan, save for Dolly as she lurks in a nest above everyone else. Elmer asks, rather worried, “Well, what do we do?”

Bedlam wraps his vines around the shoulders of his Enforcers, a rare act of compassion from this Lord of Death, and explains to them, “Nothing changes. You all shall finish packing. Tomorrow, you head to Independence and I begin scouting.” The tattooed terror walks to a window where he sees the vast forests of Oregon, so full of life, the flora and fauna. “It is time.”

* * *

“Time for TACOS.” Victoria looks at the plate of tacos sitting in front of her, grinning like a lunatic, and she eyes Kate’s plate too. Kate, sitting next to her, takes notice of this and laughs, while Victoria asks her, “What did you think of the church?”

Kate sighs happily before enlightening Victoria: “It was so nice. It’s got a good view of the town, and the valleys are so… vast. It’s just like home. And the pastor too, she was so friendly. This place is great.”

With a taco in her mouth, Victoria nods and hums, “Mhm.”

Kate looks at Victoria and sees in her eyes just the faintest hint of sleepiness. “What were you doing in the meantime?”

Victoria shrugs her shoulders and lets out a yawn, “Catching up on sleep in the car…” With a chuckle, she adds shyly, “I didn’t get much. And my back hurts.”

“Aw.” Kate places her hands on her wife’s shoulders and lays back a bit with her in their booth. “Sorry, I should’ve looked for a place to take us to.”

“It’s all good.” As Kate eats a taco, Victoria asks her, “What do you think of the tacos?”

“These are so good. We really need a taco place in the Bay.”

“Yeah…” Victoria feels that old pessimism come and go, wanting to tell her, “_ If there is even a Bay left. _” “It could use one.”

From nowhere, a waiter at the shop - a sturdy blue cat with a taco hat on her head - adds gleefully, “Every place needs taco places!”

Kate looks at her and asks, “Right?”

“Also, did you saw you met Pastor K?” Kate nods and the cat continues, “Nice. She’s super cool, and my mom works at the church too.”

Victoria nods her head: “Interesting. But yeah, this place is… pretty great.”

The cat smiles and tells her, “I’m sure my boss will be glad that you like it. Things have been on the ups lately, and I’m all for it.” The cat takes a seat opposite the duo and asks, “Anyways, what are your names?”

“I’m Victoria, this is Kate.”

The cat nods along, interested, and tells them, “My name’s Mae! And I’ve heard a little bit about you, from a friend of a friend.”

“Josiah?”

“Yep. Apparently, he gave Germ some really cool red coat. It suits him, nice colors.”

Kate shrugs her shoulders and Victoria says, “I’ll say. But he got it from some bullies at his school. They made him wear it. In the freezing cold.”

Mae’s yellow eyes widen before settling on a frown: “Damn, that’s messed up.”

“Uh huh. But I talked some sense into them, and into Josiah, I hope.”

Mae gives her two thumbs up, triumphantly cheering, “Good. Screw bullies!”

“Amen to that.” Victoria looks at the town outside the window and takes another bite of a taco. After swallowing it, she asks, “What’s the quickest way to New York from here?”

Mae shrugs her shoulders and rolls her eyes: “I dunno. I’ve never been there. Isn’t it pretty close though?”

Victoria waves a hand around, adding, “Kinda. Relatively speaking.”

Mae waves at Victoria. “Hi, ‘Relative Lee’.”

Victoria laughs and rolls her eyes at this obvious pun. “Oh my God.” She takes out her phone and checks a map of the East Coast. It’s not that far away: “Hey, three hour… Oh.” Victoria turns to Kate and asks, “Katie, want me to take over?”

Kate only has to take one look at Victoria to see that she’s in about as much shape to drive the rest of the way as she herself is. And so, she shakes her head.“Nah. Thank you, though… I could go for a nap somewhere. And I’m sure you can too.”

Nodding her head, Victoria asks Mae, “What are some good… ‘napping’ spots?”

Mae hums, thinking of some of her favorite places - _ her friend Bea’s house (no, obviously), her own house (again, no, obviously), that abandoned apartment (seriously, just somewhere else that isn’t just your friends’ houses) _ \- and her nightmare eyes widen as she brilliantly suggests, from the idea of that abandoned apartment, “You could try the rooftops! Get all bundled up, hang out with Lori if she’s up there, and hopefully not roll off and go splat.”

Victoria squints her eyes at this… suggestion. “Uh- okay, no. Besides, how are we supposed to get all the way up to the rooftops?”

“Use the electrical poles.” Both girls look at her blankly, prompting her to ask with a snarky raise of an eyebrow, “What?” The pause stays. “Okay, there’s the church.”

Kate grins and tells Victoria, “Yesssss, we can go there!”

Victoria sees Kate’s smile and settles on it: “Might as well. Thank you, Mae.”

Mae gets up and tells the two, “You’re very, very welcome.” And like that she starts to walk away, back in business… until she comes back and asks, “Oh, and that’ll be eighteen dollars for the tacos.”

Victoria chuckles. Pulling out her wallet and grabbing a twenty, she tells Mae, “Keep the change.” And with Mae gone, and their food paid for, the duo head outside.

The townspeople walk around as they always do, living their lives in preparation for the holiday season. The world is alight under the sun, peering through the collapsing clouds with the skies a pastel blue. The two humans walk East, back into Town Centre, where Victoria spots a bear and a bird putting up decorations and banners for a holiday - “Longest Night”. Things are festive. Things are peaceful.

The duo walk past people - animals who are people, that is - as they smoke, they talk, they work, they eat, all in perfect harmony. And the two march up the stairway to the town’s Church of the First Coalescence; Possum Spring’s first and only church. 

Upon walking into the place, the two spot Pastor Karen standing by the doors to the Main Hall. She, a tall green bird with glasses, gleefully waves to Kate and says, “Hello again! Welcome back!”

Kate waves back, holding Victoria’s hand to ease her into the environment. “Hi, Pastor. Victoria, this is, as you’ve probably guessed, Pastor K.”

“Nice to meet you, Victoria.” Kate lets go of Victoria’s hand, allowing her to shake K’s hand. “I’ve already met Kate, and she is just pleasant.”

Victoria smirks, looking at Kate with love in her eyes. “I’ll say.”

The Pastor laughs, letting out a few caws as well: “Y’know, it’s funny. We’re both named Kate. Me and her.”

Victoria’s eyes widen as she looks at both of them. “Wha- forreal?”

The two of them nod and exclaim, “Mhm!”

“Whaaaat? This is a crazy world.”

The two of them also say, “You can certainly say that again.”

All three erupt into laughter before settling down so that Victoria can ask, “Mae told us that this place is a good resting spot. And, at the risk of looking like free-loaders, can we stay here for a bit? Just to relax?”

Pastor K perks up at the sound of that familiar name and that friendly request. “Ah, Mae. She’s a friendly soul, one who has been through quite a bit. I suppose you can stay and rest. Kate mentioned a roadtrip in today’s Mass. That you came all the way here from Oregon! Well, you’re at the end of the race, headed to New York City, so why not take the time to make a pitstop.” Pastor K takes a seat on one of the nearby pews and adds with a welcoming tone, “And no, you aren’t free-loaders. You, and everyone else, are welcome here.”

Kate, with a big grin on her face, says, “Thank you very much.”

From behind her spectacles, Pastor K looks to her right, pointing out the rest spot. “The library is open, and you may use it as such for as long as you need.”

The two start to walk away, with Victoria graciously telling the Pastor, “Thank you, like, a million times.”

And like that, the two head into the library, past another blue cat lady sitting at a desk. From there, they go through a corrido before reaching the library. It’s small, but there is a bench facing a window where the sunlight can come in. It’s very nice, really. The two settle on the bench, holding each other in their arms dearly and sincerely. “We’ll get there in no time. Rest up, my love.”

“You too, babe.” And like that, the two fall asleep, into their dreams.

* * *

Enter: The Main Hall of the Agency of Metahuman Containment’s Headquarters. Enter: Independence, Missouri. Enter: The End of Everything. Standing there by the giant cake is Sean Prescott, looking as sniveling as always. He’s dressed for success with a Santa hat on his head. He sneers, trying to look sincere and failing, at Victoria and her parents, grabbing their attention as an old friend does. He raises his palms and exclaims, “Ah, Victoria! It is so good of you join us!”

Victoria opens her mouth to respond, but her mother takes the job for her: “Thank you for hosting us! Yeah, our daughter was a bit hesitant to come, but she came! And we’re here! And that’s all that matters.”

Victoria looks around, seeing a bunch of rich socialites, senators, trust-fund goody-goodies, all talking the talk about the world and her many affairs. And she HATES it. She also hates what this exactly is, on a metaphysical sense as she puts her palms over her face in annoyance. “Goddamnit, this is a dream. Or flicker. Whateverthefuck it is.”

Prescott chortles in some sort of disbelief, saying, “Whoa, potty mouth."

Colin, in between giggles which are so obviously not real, asks in a whisper, "What's up with you, Victoria?"

“Nothing. How’d I get here?”

The Prescott patriarch pauses and looks around. To him, Victoria’s looking like a stranger, a weirdo. “You don’t remember? My friend, the Jumper, came along and picked you up from Manhattan.”

“Is that so?”, Victoria says, glaring at Prescott.

Prescott confusedly looks around. Now, she’s really getting strange. “Yeah. It is so. Or, was so.” Victoria nods her head, and tired of her… weirdness, Sean tells the Chase parents, “I’m gonna go tear up the dance floor, make yourselves welcome!” And with a tip of his hat, Sean marches onto the dance floor, trying his damnedest to look really happy with a, “HO, HO, HO!”

Zara looks at her daughter and, concerned, asks Victoria, “Is everything okay?”

“I’m peachy. Where are the drinks?”

“No alcoholic beverages for you, young lady.” That posh voice rings familiar to Victoria’s ears. It’s a voice she hasn’t heard in a long time, perhaps since a certain road trip to Mount Rushmore. “Especially not after your last time with Mr. Prescott’s son.”

Victoria turns to see an elderly man with hair as white as snow standing with beverages to hand out. And he hands her a bottle of water, perhaps so as to avoid another firing. Just as he wishes he had all those years ago. Victoria looks at him regretfully. “Montrose?”

* * *

“No.” Victoria sits up as waves crash around her. “You’re sorely mistaken, Vicky. It’s Max-ine.”

She looks around and sees that it is sunset, that she is back in Arcadia Bay, that she has been drenched in saltwater. She looks down at her outfit - again, the classic Blackwell cashmere-skirt combo - and grumbles, “For Christ’s sake.”

“I’m the only God here, as much as Kate would disagree.” Victoria gets to her feet and faces down the Other Max - Maxine - as she stands in the ocean, her body shrouded in a black robe. Behind her, the sun glistens and gleams, shining a powerful orange light onto the world, just before night eventually comes. She glares at Victoria, her enemy as always, and continues, “But then again, she’s not here either, is she? This is the end. If Bedlam won’t do it, then I will.”

“What?”

The Other Max tilts her head and steps forward. “You forgot or someth-” That look in Victoria’s eyes. Confusion. She grins a cruel sniveling grin. “Ohhh, this is another one of those.” Victoria knows too. “A dream- flicker- whateverthefuck. Just like it was back then. This is what awaits you, Vicky. I so dearly await you.” She turns around to look at the Sun. Light on her dark. “Take one last look at the world. One last look before I tear it to ribbons.” She turns around and stares Victoria down. Her eyes cold and blank, yet full of fury.

* * *

Victoria wakes up on a sailboat in the afternoon. The sun is setting, yet still shining, and the wind is calm, bringing in the sun’s warmth. She sits up, and she looks around. She sees Arcadia Bay… and it looks different. Gone are the suburbs, and here are the urbs. Taller buildings have been built, replacing all of Arcadia Bay Avenue, Cedar Avenue, Overlook Avenue, and everything in between. It’s as if the whole town had been demolished.

She scratches her hair and checks her phone. September 12th, 2015. Kate’s birthday. And yet, she’s nowhere to be seen.

* * *

Victoria wakes up in a cold sweat, and she’s back in the church with Kate, holding her tightly. She whispers to her, "We need to stay here." Nothing. Well, except snores. "Oh, you're asleep still." Victoria feels someone else laying next to the two of them, so she look. It’s Mae. "And so are you."

"Me too, sometimes.” An old bird in a fisherman's vest says as he mops the floor. “When I’m not on the job. Just a sweet lil' place for us to take refuge in these rough times." He sighs happily as he sprays down a stained glass window with some water.

"You can say that again… Janitor."

The Janitor looks at Victoria and, as tired and old as he is, he smiles. "Nous faisons toujours… Victoria Chase."

She freezes and thinks. Thinks aloud. "How do you know my name?"

The Janitor shrugs and starts walking away. He tells her, "You already know mine. Au revoir."

Victoria looks at him go, but brushes it off in a shiver. She holds Kate and says to herself, with him gone, “Nice French.”

* * *

“Are you sure?” Mae asks of Victoria with a raised eyebrow. “Possum Springs isn’t exactly the best of places in the country. I mean, there are worse, to be sure.”

Victoria looks up at the sky, and the many stars she can see. “We have to… There’s gonna be a big blizzard, and I don’t know how this car of ours will handle.”

Kate crosses her arms, telling Victoria nonchalantly, “No, there isn’t.”

“Yeah.” Victoria laughs, passing it off as just disbelief. “Yeah! It will snow!”

Kate points up into the air, clearly not buying it. “There- there isn’t. It’s a clear night sky.”

Mae looks at the two with her wide nightmare eyes, and adds to the conversation, “Eh, we didn’t think there’d be snow in November. Or humans in… the rest of the world. Or wormholes.” She continues staring at the two as they look at each other, rather flustered from the fighting. “Okay. There’s a hotel, if you need it. Or maybe Pastor K will let you stay… Hey, that rhymed.”

Victoria says to her, “Thank you, Mae. You’ve been a delight.”

Mae shrugs her shoulders and says, “I have that effect on people. Happy Longest Night!” The two don’t get it. "That's like our Christmas, I think. According to Bing."

Victoria smirks. "Bing. You use Bing?" She chuckles, amused at the idea, before telling her happily, “Happy Longest Night to you too!” And like that, Mae walks off into the cold Possum Springs night, down the stairs into town.

With the two of them alone, Kate says seriously, “There’s obviously no blizzard coming, Vic. I’m not dumb.”

Victoria freezes up and puts her hands over her face, telling her wife, “No, Katie, I didn’t mean to say anything like that!”

Seeing Victoria like that brings Kate back to calmness, and she sighs. “I know. Sorry to put you on the spot like that.” After a pause, she asks, “Why don’t you want to go along to New York? We’re almost there.”

Victoria takes a deep breath, afraid of how Kate will react. She sees her smile, in the future, so things must go right. Right? And so, she speaks up and asks, “Remember that guy who saved us from Teddy Iris and his thugs?” Kate nods her head. “He works for Sean Prescott and his dumb fucking Agency- wait, can I swear in a church?” Taking a walk outside to her car, Pastor K shrugs. Kate, seeing Victoria’s nerves acting up, gives her a thumbs up. “Okay, sorry. But he works for him, and he’ll pick me up in New York. Maybe he’s waiting there.”

“But maybe he isn’t.”

Victoria rubs her eyes with the palms of her hands. She’s getting anxious, so Kate holds her hand. “I know. It’s crazy, I sound crazy, but we can stay here. He won’t think to look for us here.”

“Vic.”

She looks at Kate, afraid. “Please. I've been having those weird dreams again, or flickers, and while the Other Max told me tha-"

"Wait, what? Who is the Other Max?"

"That evil Max who killed a bunch of people. Back when we were at Blackwell, with Max's ‘Justice League’ or whatever, in the pool room, I had a dream where I met her. And she told me those dreams I was having - that I've been having - they're flickers or something. Glimpses into another world."

Kate looks at her with a slight ounce of confusion. She wipes it off quickly, back to coolness. Victoria cannot do the same as she fretfully explains, "Like I said, it's crazy. And yet, they're all… kinda possible. Us going to New York in one dream, us fighting Jefferson, and that's just mine. Max told you about hers, right?"

Kate remembers some time back in October of last year. It was the OmniMax who told her about time travel and proved it, but it was a Max nonetheless. She remembered her describing a tornado tearing through town, as if it were out to kill the Bay. She remembers: "She did tell me. A storm destroying the Bay. And it happened too, in Chloe’s timeline. It could have happened in ours." Kate hugs Victoria, letting her warmth defuse Victoria’s anxious nerves. As she runs her fingers over the back of her head, she tells her, "Let's just look at them as what they are: Dreams. Glimpses. Whatever. What matters is what's here."

Victoria smiles, at peace. "So you wanna stay?"

“New York's not here, is it? And besides, it's pretty late.” Victoria nods her head in agreement. "Come. Let's make a new future." And like that, with Kate leading Victoria along as she strongly and tenderly holds her hand, the two walk down the stairs back into town. Back to where the people are.


	8. Die Anywhere Else

Days Until Christmas: 3

Overnight, things changed. It SNOWED. A LOT. A blizzard blew in from the blue, leaving Possum Springs caked in a thick sheet of snow. Now, it is the middle of the day. A late start for Victoria and Kate as they cautiously walk around the streets of Town Centre, avoiding the threat of black ice. Still, they accept this start as they would any other: happily, together.

All bundled up, Victoria looks around and smiles. “Cool.” She walks next to the town’s war memorial and feels the floor with two stomps of her feet. Feeling the softness beneath her, she falls flat on her back with a thud. “Katie? Care to join me?”

“In?” Victoria starts waving her arms and legs around the ground, creating a snow angel. “Oh.” And just like that, Kate falls next to her and joins in the fun. The two giggle happily and smile as they look up to the sky with its gray uncertainties and its snowfall.

As the two lovers leave their mark on the town, Victoria thinks back to the snow that Arcadia Bay would bring, as she looks at Kate admirably. “I always liked doing these back at Blackwell. And I’m happy to be doing them with you now. I love you to death.”

Kate feels her heart melt as she says back, “Oh, don’t get too corny on me, you! I love you to death… too. I’m the sequel.”

“I’m the corny one? You've been hanging with Max too much.”

Kate and Victoria laugh amongst themselves as the locals carry on with their lives. “What are we gonna do today?”

“Let’s check that board over there.” The two stand up and walk to the community bulletin board where flyers crowd about. Victoria reads it off: “There’s a Longest Night Festival later. A mall a few miles away. The taco place. A party at some ballpit ballroom, ooh. Maybe we can reform some more impressionable dumb kids. But aside from that… Wow, there’s nothing going on.”

“Maybe we can walk around town and meet some of the people.”

“Good idea!” From above, darkness - the source of the statement - falls next to the two. She gets up and says stoically, “I can help with that!”

Kate looks at her and says, “Oh, hi, Mae.”

Mae waves at her and says, “Hi. Like I said, I can help.”

“Okay. Name your rate.”

Shocked, Victoria softly yells, “Katie, no!”

Overjoyed, Mae giddily yells, “Katie, yes! Five dollars an hour!”

“Just five?”

Mae shrugs her shoulders and lets Victoria know, “I’m a friendly god."

* * *

“Your mission is simple: ruin that Christmas party.” Bedlam points to a photograph of Sean Prescott. He smiles, a mask for his miscellaneous crimes. And in black ink, dark Xs mark his eyes.

The Enforcers, expecting something perhaps more nefarious, look around. Tangi chucklingly asks, “Th-ha-hat’s it?”

“That is entirely up to you.”

Elmer shivers jokingly, adding, “Oooo, spooky. I like it.”

“Yes." Bedlam steps closer to his allies and explains, "Dolly has already made contact, so entry into the base shouldn’t be a hassle. But from the second that shield generator goes up, communication with the outside world is impossible. After that, you all are on your own. Are you ready?”

Together, the Enforcers speak in one voice: “Yes.” And as one, they all high-five. Practice makes perfect with these pilferers.

Bedlam smiles, or at least he smiles as best as he can considering he has no muscles or flesh. “Good. Then ride, my troopers.” He points the Enforcers to a door and they march out into the wintery Culmination city darkness.

But he grabs Damon Merrick by the shoulder, stopping him from leaving with his friends. He speaks into his ear, “Not you, Damon. You have an important part to play in Arcadia Bay. And you will accompany me on this journey.” The two look into the dawn, ready to tear it asunder in just a few days.

* * *

“Our first stop is the Ol’ Pickaxe, Possum Spring’s premier hardware shop." Mae leads the couple inside where hammers and nails and tools and things hang on the wooden wall behind the cashier. "It opened in… uh…” Mae scratches the red tufts of hair on the top of her head, thinking of the answer.

Her friend behind the counter, an alligator in goth fashion, jokingly rolls her eyes and states, “1985.”

Mae snaps her fingers and proclaims, “The rip-roaring Eighties! Thanks, Bea.” Mae gives her friend a thumbs up.

“Yeah, no problem.”, Bea says with a chuckle. Quickly, she takes a cigarette out of her pocket and lights it.

Victoria politely asks Bea, “Hey, can I borrow a cig?”

Bea raises an eyebrow and asks, “You gonna give it back?” There is a pause between the two before she shrugs her shoulders and hands Victoria a cigarette of her own. “Here.”

With a smirk, Victoria lights up and breathes in on the cig. “Thanks.”

A green bird with a black baseball cap steps up to the counter and places a toolbox on it. He snaps his fingers to let his Boss know his task is done. And he starts to walk away until he sees, out of the corner of his eye, Victoria and Kate. “Hey, you must be the people who brought Josiah home.”

Kate smiles and tells him, with an arm around Victoria’s shoulders, “We sure are.”

He climbs over the counter, prompting a sigh out of Bea’s mouth, and extends a hand to the two girls. “I’m Germ, Germ Warfare, pleased to meet you.”

Victoria looks at him, thinking to herself, “_ What a name. _” She shakes his hand and tells him, “Hi. I’m-”

“Victoria. And that's Kate. He told me already. You’re cool!” Germ looks at Mae and asks her, "Have you introduced them to Rabies?"

Victoria looks at him, just a wee bit worried, and looks at Mae, a teeny bit more worried. "I don't believe so. Besides, I already got my shots."

Mae laughs and exclaims to her customers, "You should meet him!"

Scratching at the back of her head, Victoria asks, “‘Him’?”

* * *

“Here he is, the Trash King - Rabies! Say hi!” Mae holds a furry gray possum up in the air, just a few feet away from Victoria and Kate. Although Kate smiles at the little lord, Victoria is slowly reeling away to keep some space between herself and… Rabies.

Nervously, Victoria tells him, “Hi.”

Rabies responds: “HGRAAAARGH!”

Stroking the possum’s back, Mae tells the tourists, “He says ‘Hi’ back. Wanna shake his hand? He got his shots!”

Kate pats Victoria’s back, for encouragement, and she says to the people around her, “Okay.” She holds out her pointer finger, feeling the magic around the marsupial. And Rabies likes her finger. “Ooh, he licks! T-tickles!” She laughs a lot, much to everyone’s joy. Rabies laughs too. Or rather, he laughs like a not-so-sentient possum can.

Rocking Rabies, Mae tells Victoria, “Yep.” With her free hand, she hands her a warm taco. Soft shell, of course. “Here, try feeding him.”

Gently, Victoria holds the taco in front of Rabies’ snout. 

Rabidly, Rabies eats the taco in one bite before chuffing it down his throat. Mae rises her fists in the air victoriously: “Free taco for the Trash King!”

Kate does the same, yelling, “YEAH!”

Victoria follows suit, a bit awkwardly, and adds, “Yeah…”

* * *

"This is the library. Not a lot of people go here, but it's nice to learn and read." Mae leads Victoria and Kate into the spacious library, just a few miles out of town. On one wall, a giant mural depicts the past of Possum Springs - where miners made the town what it is today.

At the counter, a bear in a purple hoodie waves to Mae. "Hello, Mae!"

Mae hops onto the counter and takes a seat, shaking her hand as she does so. "Hi, Selmers! How are you doing today?"

"Better than ever! This job rocks. I can read, and I can write! And it's allowed!"

Mae high-fives Selmers and proclaims, "That's the spirit!" From the second floor, a low hush emerges. Mae, clearly annoyed, whispers, “sorry. I won’t be as loud.”

“WHAT WAS THAT?”

Selmers stands and tells the shusher, “She says ‘Quiet’!” She plops back into her seat and says to Mae and the humans, "But, uh, speaking of the writing spirit, wanna hear some new poems?"

Mae points finger guns at her friend and tells her, "You know it!"

"_ I would like to see _

_ The whole world one day _

_ But even if that can't be _

_ Everything will be okay _"

Kate nods her head, approvingly, and says, "That is lovely. Lay on the next one!"

“_ Through fire and flame _

_ We lose what we want _

_ Though old ghosts will haunt _

_ Life will continue all the same _”

Victoria, Kate and Mae give snaps, all in place of applause. Victoria audibly tells her, “Oh my god, those are really good!”

Selmers gives the trio two thumbs up and says with a smile, “Thanks!”

* * *

“And this is the Junebug Antique Shop! It’s old stuff found in the abandoned Trolley Tunnels. Look around, friends!” Mae walks into a back aisle upon seeing a cool-looking ancient cat mask.

Kate spots a book aisle and leads Victoria by the wrist. She spots an interesting find in specific: “Look, Vic, one of the old New Testament Bibles! Like, ‘one of the first’ old!”

Victoria smirks, intrigued at this odd information. “You really know your bibles.” Kate shrugs her shoulders and begins skimming through it. “Just out of curiosity, do you think there are new Old Testament Bibles?”

“I’ve heard that there are some people making them down in Nevada. ‘Heaven’s Point’ or something like that. Daniel and Jacob told me they’re VERY bad people… And also that they aren’t supposed to be around this early.”

“Damn anachronisms. I guess maybe Max and Chloe’ll deal with them at some point.”

Setting the old New Bible aside, Kate tells her, "Let's deal with these for now." And the two head down the aisle past other trinkets - lamps, currencies, paintings, a wooden cuckoo clock…

“A cool old camera!” Victoria looks at it and holds it in the air. She checks out the intricacies of the old device, such as its lens, its grip, its trigger. “I remember Mom and Dad having one of the-”

A moth lands on the lens and waves at her with its miniscule limbs.

Upon seeing this old enemy, Victoria almost drops the camera before narrowly catching it. She hastily sets it down on the ground as Kate rushes over to her aid, asking, “Vic, what’s wrong?”

Pointing at the camera, she yells, “It’s HER!”

The moth stands triumphantly and speaks: “Yes! It’s ME! The one and only Dolly. Well, besides Parton.”

“Why are you here?”

Sauntering across the lens, Dolly states, “I’m here to take some time out of your day… Oh, and to give ya a warning, that they’re coming for you. The Agency, and their Metahuman Jumping Bean. He’s on the hunt.”

Under her breath, Victoria groans, “Shit.”

Standing by her side, Kate asks, “And why tell us?”

Dolly groans too, yelling, “So many questions! Sheesh, you people remind me of Max! Like, all three of them! Secondly, I’m telling you because it’s the season of giving! So I’m giving you info! A warning. Because fuck the Agency.” Both Kate and Victoria nod to each other, accepting this info. But Dolly rolls her eyes, she wants just one thing: “‘THAAAAANK YOOOOOU’?”

Nodding spitefully at the villain, Victoria says, “Thanks.”

“Toodl- CAAAAAT!” Seeing Mae charge at her with a lamp fashioned after a woman’s leg prompts Dolly to flutter away into the night.

_ CUCKOO. CUCKOO. CUCKOO. _

Mae asks, “Friend of yours?”

Victoria and Kate look at Mae in shock, seeing as her weapon of choice was store property. Victoria tells her, “Far from it.” As Mae still holds the leg lamp, she asks, utterly bewildered, “Wait, you were gonna hit her with that?!”

“Yeah!” Calmly, Mae sets the leg lamp on the ground and explains, “She was in my dreams! Thankfully, I chased her away like the good cat I am!” Looking around, the three see nothing out of the ordinary. “What did she do?”

“She got in your dreams, apparently. And she just warned us about… stuff.”

Looking into the street, Mae's eyes widen when she sees a change: “Uhhhh… She did something else.” “I’m willing to offer a discount on that ‘five dollars per hour’ deal.”

Victoria follows along and sees the night outside. Angrily, she growls, “Oh my god, is she kidding meeeee?!”

Kate holds Victoria and tells her, tenderly, "Calm down, Vic, everything is fine. We know where the Jumper is, and he's not here."

Victoria looks down at the ground, hiding her rage at the supervillains. "Why does Dolly keep doing this? What have we ever done to her?!"

Kate shrugs her shoulders and tells her, "We did kinda kill her." Victoria gives Kate an annoyed look and she says, "Sorry, bad time for jokes. Let's just enjoy the night. Remember that festival?"

Nodding her head, Victoria says, "I do. Let's go to that."

Mae remembers, however, "Oh shoot, me and my friends have a thing right now! I'm on the clock!"

Victoria pulls out her wallet and grabs five ten dollar bills. Handing them to Mae, she tells her, "Keep the change."

The cat takes a few seconds to admire the revenue. With her Cheshire's cat smile and her nightmare eyes, she tells the wives, "Thank you very much! Please be careful with whatever is going on in your lives!" And as quickly as she came, she is gone to do that thing with her friends.

Victoria crosses her arms to hold in her rage and asks Kate, “What are we gonna do?”

“We try and make a run for it.”

Victoria nods her head and the two walk out into the night - the Longest Night, where the townsfolk are celebrating with floats and music. Victoria takes a few seconds to look at her phone and see the time. She sees it and yells, “Nine o’cl- What the fuck? It was just four!”

“Relax, Vic. Relax. Everything will be okay." They continue along the streets and see above them giant fish with the world on their backs, fire breathing bird-popes, and mountaineering bear travellers. They also see the Agency’s Jumper, the man in black, lurking in the shadows and stalking from the rooftops.

Victoria sees him, if only just for a second before he vanishes elsewhere in the area. “Shit. He’s here. That jumping fuck.”

“Huh?”

“Him.” She points at him as he walks through the Ol’ Pickaxe, searching. Hunting. Staying low and keeping Kate at her level, Victoria adds, “Stay in the crowd. He can’t get us.”

“What does he want? D-does he know about our powers?”

“The dream didn’t mention it. Get lower.”

Lower doesn’t do much as the Jumper enters the crowd. His sight passes over Victoria and Kate, although there are unknowing townsfolk and iconic constellations providing them cover. “What now?”

“We hide from him. Get to the car. Drive the hell out of town.” A laugh escapes Victoria’s throat, and she smiles. “Who knows? Maybe we’ll get to New York after all.”

For just a few more minutes, they hide while the Jumper seeks. They hide behind cars, under parade floats, within the crowd. But nowhere is safe. And by the statue, in the shadows, they are found.

The Jumper curtsies for the two girls and says, “Good evening.” Pulling out a Christmas card, he hands it to Victoria and continues, “You have been invited to the Agency of Metahuman Containment’s Christmas Bash. Your RSVP proves that your attendance is mandatory, so sayeth Sean Prescott!”

Victoria laughs, masking her anger very poorly. “I told my parents I wasn’t coming.”

The Jumper looks at his list of invitees, with several names already crossed off. Rather confused, he asks, “Then, who put you on the list?”, and shows it to Victoria.

“Is that fucking crayon? Let me see.” Victoria grabs the list… and tears it to shreds before tossing it into the air. She smugly tells the metahuman agent, “Oops. Looks like I’m not on the list. Now, fuck off.”

The Jumper simply glares at her and firmly states, “We have extras. Come. Or we’ll make you come.” As Victoria raises two fists with the clear intention to flip him off, the Jumper adds, “I can take you in, meta. Both of you.”

Kate asks, “What are you talking about?”

“I’m not dumb.” Stepping closer, he demands, “You’re coming along, Victoria. It’s a party or a padded cell. Take your pick.”

Victoria drops her fists and feels the urge to punch the Jumper straight across the jaw. But she drops it and sighs. “Fine. On a few conditions.”

“Make them snappy.”

“Take us back to Arcadia Bay. So I can pack and Katie can go home.”

The Jumper grabs their shoulders and, in the blink of an eye, they are gone.

* * *

“Pack.” As Victoria grabs a suitcase and stuffs it with clothes and other necessities to fight boredom, Kate frowns upon the Jumper. She wonders how she can fight him off and they can avoid any trouble. “Don’t try it, Kate. Don’t give me a reason. Not that I don’t have enough as it is. And don’t try calling Max or somebody.”

“Oh my god, Vic, what will we do?”

As she finishes packing her stuff - clothing, snacks, bathroom supplies, Jefferson’s gun - she tells Kate, “I’ll try and get to the bottom of this. Worst comes to worst, it’ll be a lame-ass party. And I’ll be back by Christmas.”

“If you have enough favors left.”

Resisting the urge to up and shoot the Jumper, Victoria swears, “Ffffffine by me.” Finally, she holds Kate in a hug: “If I don’t see you by then, then Merry Christmas, baby.” She plops a kiss on Kate’s forehead and stands by the Jumper.

“Merry Christmas.” Kate waves goodbye to Victoria, adding, “I love you.”

The Jumper holds Victoria’s shoulder and she says to Kate, “I love you t-”

Gone. Kate sighs and looks down at the snowy streets of Arcadia Bay - home - where no one is around. She feels the desolation and breaks it with a call to her old friend: “Max.”

Having picked up almost immediately - the perks of having time-based abilities - Max asks, “Hi, Kate, what’s up?”

“I’m back in town.”

“Already? What happened to New York?”

“It’s a long story. But the Agency took Victoria to some party.”

Max shakes her head - again, having known already that this was the outcome - and sighs. “Oh, that. Sorry, Kate.”

“It’s okay. But I guess I’m stuck here. And from what I’ve heard, you’ve been busy.”

“Very. Bedlam’s got something big planned.”

“And do I factor into that?”

Max giggles happily into the phone. “Actually? Yes. We need your help.”

Kate smiles and lays on her bed. All tucked in, she tells her, “Then, you’ve got it.”

* * *

The Jumper opens the hotel door for Victoria and pushes her inside. With just the smallest hint of irony in his voice, he tells her, "Enjoy your stay."

Victoria feels the urge to curse him out, rip off his stupid black mask, and punch his face until it turns red, black and blue, instead choosing to hurriedly tell him, "Yeah, thanks, 'kay, bye."

As the door closes behind her and locks, she sees her parents standing by the television. Colin waves at his daughter and asks, “Victoria, how have you been?”

Sliding her things across the fabric floor, she asks the two of them, “You put me on the fucking list?!”

Zara rushes to her husband’s side and exclaims in disbelief at her daughter’s violent words, “Victoria Maribeth Chase, you watch your tone.”

“Oh, I’m watching it alright! Why’d you do it?”

The two Chases look at each other and look at their daughter, simultaneously asking, “Do what?”

“Put me on the fucking list. I didn’t want to come, I TOLD you!”

Colin shakes his head slowly, still trying to wrap it around whatever she is accusing them of: “We didn’t do that.”

As he says that, Victoria glares at him and blurts out, “Bullshit.”

Colin crosses his arms and affirms to his daughter, “Victoria, we would never- We would never do that to you. Besides, you know how he is.”

Victoria’s eyes widen as she remembers everything: “Yeah, like how standing near him would make me want to jump off the Space Needle? How he destroys the people closest to him - like Kristine? And Nathan? Me? You two? How he’s a rich asshole in league with other rich assholes who hate metahumans and want to dissect u- them?! YEAH, I fuckin’ know how he is!”

The three Chases feel the air grow cold and sharp… mostly because Colin left the window open. He closes it and sheepishly tells her, “Well… He is all of that…” He looks around for anything spying on them before adding, “… and worse. But he helped put us on the map. He's a good friend."

Victoria scoffs and shakes her head, trying not to let her rage get the better of her - or rather, better than it already has. “You didn’t need him. You never did.” She marches over to her luggage and grabs her pack of cigarettes. “I’m gonna have a smoke. Be back in a bit.”

Zara rushes to her daughter and pleads, “Victoria-”

“I’ll be back!” She grabs a copy of the hotel card and opens the door to head out into the hallway of this hotel.


	9. Christmas Eve Eve

Days Until Christmas: 2

The Arcadian afternoon’s cool chill blows through the Bay, where only old ghosts roam in the face of death. In Kate’s apartment, Max drops a pearly suitcase onto her bed, smiling at her friend as Chloe smokes by the window. She explains, “Some of the alternate Maxes have caught wind of the upcoming battle and have offered us some weapons. We've got guns, swords, knives, more guns, some trick stuff, and… this.” Max opens the case, letting light escape from it. As the trio glare at its contents, she tells Kate, “They said it's for you. Merry Christmas.”

Clutching the briefcase close to her chest, Kate smiles at Max and Chloe. “Aww, tell them I said thank you!”

Max nods her head and tells her friend, “I will. Now, try it on.”

Kate closes the case and takes it into the bathroom. There, she changes, metamorphosizes into something else. Something animalistic in nature, with a mask, a cape, a costume. Black and white, with no shades in between. A being of light that Arcadia Bay will need in its darkest hour. She becomes the White Rabbit.

She steps back into the living room and waves at her friends: “Ta-daaaa!”

As Max nods in approval at her alternates’ efforts, and also answers her ringing phone, Chloe offers snaps and praise. “Dude, that is awesome! A true superhero!”

Kate laughs, a bit flattered. “Shucks.”

“Okay? Okay. We’ll be down.” Max hangs up the phone and tells the two, “It’s Daniel. He’s got friends coming.”

Kate steps over to the window and opens it while also creating an elevator of light to bring up the backup. The backup is, of course, Daniel and his young drifter friends.

The boy leans in and pulls himself inside. After getting in, he gleefully waves at his friends and says, “Hey, guys! I've brought in backup! All the way from Puerto Lobos!”

The leader of the pack, the young Finn, pokes his head into the room and adds, “Heya, friends. We're the Cavalry.”

Stifling a laugh, Chloe explains, “I mean, kinda. If you're here, then you're just in this army of ours.” She shrugs her shoulders anyways.

“Welcome! I’m Max, this is Chloe! You’re Finn, right?”

“Uh-huh. I remember yoooou!” The teen tries pulling himself into the apartment just as Daniel did… but he can’t. Not even with the help of some of his pals, Hannah and Cassidy. But finally, after a few more seconds of fumbling, Finn drags himself inside and hops to his feet. “Ready for duty, ma’am!” He salutes the superheroes, but his travelling buddies do not. Rather annoyed, he urges of them, “C’mon, salute with me!”

Hannah helps herself into the room with Cassidy and Penny following right after. She tells him forwardly, “I am not saluting.”

Chloe snaps her fingers and grins at the rebels. “That’s the spirit!”

“Woah, nice costume!” Daniel puts a fist up in front of Kate, asking for it to be bumped. 

Behind her mask, Kate is smiling: “Thank you.” She bumps fists with Daniel and walks over to Max right after. She asks her, rather concerned, “Uh, should we really be recruiting children?”

“Daniel’s even younger than them. Besides, he’s a beast. Er, wolf. You should’ve seen him at the Wall.”

Kate eyes the young drifters and adds to her earlier statement, “I mean, without powers.”

Max shrugs her shoulders again and says, “Hey, we’ve got Steph, Dana, Warren and some more of our non-powered friends getting ready to fight. And besides, we’ve still got the big guys on our side.”

“Literally.” The two girls laugh with each other.

* * *

As two squirrels stalk along the local powerlines, Colin snaps a shot at them. He captures them in a moment of, well, chase. “Look at that. Just… Beautiful.” He takes the photograph and drops it into a plastic baggy, of which he seems to have plenty for containing his works.

Zara focuses on their daughter and sighs. She feels bad about their argument, and they know Victoria does too. As Victoria leans against a traffic signal with her eyes fixed on her phone and the evening darkness all around, she says to her, “Vic, we’re really sorry about whatever happened. We tried talking to Sean but-”

“That bastard can’t just pay up whatever money he’d owe from an extra chair?”

Zara and Colin look at each other, upset knowing that she is wholly correct. Colin sighs and adds, “He can. We know too. But we’re also trying, really fucking trying, to tell you that we’re being upfront with you about this whole invitation debacle. We called you and asked if you wanted to come and you said no, we know that.”

Victoria glares at her parents and asks, in another attempt to spite them, “You’d have to, right?” Suddenly, something inside her tells her to calm down. And she does, sighing and saying, “I'm sorry.”

“What?” Colin and Zara look at their daughter and see her grumbling and groaning, clearly upset with herself at the moment.

Zara steps forward and consoles her with a soft stroke of her bangs: “Oh, Victoria.” Still, Victoria tries avoiding eye contact, looking off at the cars passing by. “You don't have to apologize. This isn't your fault. But, I suppose we should say, if it means anything right now, we're sorry too.” Colin comes along and the two hold their daughter in a hug, keeping her calm and bringing her down to some sort of rationality.

With the three Chases cooled down, Victoria asks rather nervously, “Is Montrose going to be at the party?”

Colin smirks, remembering the family’s old friend. As Sean Prescott mentioned it in a phone call, he tells her, “Yeah.”

“Have you talked to him in a while?”

He shakes his head and tells her, “No, but… we can try.”

“Okay. Let’s do that then, when we can.” Victoria wipes at her eyes, ridding herself of tears that almost dripped down her face. “I… I’m really sorry about being angry at you guys. It’s just I reeeeally didn’t sign up for that thing.”

Colin shrugs his shoulders, explaining once more, “We figured. And we surely didn’t sign you up for it.”

Zara holds Victoria’s shoulder and asks, “Hang on, are you implying that Montrose did it?”

Victoria snickers and tells her, with an inquisitive stroke of her chin, “What? No, but… someone did it. And I think I have a few ideas who.” Looking at the two, she sees them sense some worry and inner doubt. “And no, it’s not you guys!” The three laugh and continue on their independent tour of Independence.

* * *

Sean Prescott walks past the containment cells and pats the Jumper on his back as he listens to the anonymous growls and roars behind a steel door. With a smile, he asks, “Is it just me or have you tamed the Dawgs?”

The Jumper shrugs as she continues looking at the door. “Must be my charm.” Finally, he turns to face Prescott and asks, “Things are looking good for the party, I take it?”

He nods his graying head and explains, “Yes. All guests are accounted for. You did good, Jumper.” The two shake hands on it as Dr. Court skips behind them. “Doctor, how is the itinerary looking?”

“All set, sir. And your Winter Wonderland playlist is good to go as well.”

Prescott pulls a comb out of his jacket and starts combing his hair with a rare and accomplished grin. “Very good. Now, let’s make ourselves look presentable. I’ve hear the other Max has done a splendid job thus far.”

* * *

In the Arcadia Bay Cemetery, as the day rapidly approaches its end, Damon is busy working on a message for the world to see, per his old ways. Using a wall as his canvas and a spray can as his brush, he delivers his message:

DON’T MESS

WITH

Dl

Behind him, Bedlam clears his throat, wishing for an answer from the Mummy Man Merrick. He explains to the tattoo tyrant, “Gotta leave a reminder for when all’s said and done, Boss.”

Bedlam points his chin up in amusement. “Our actions are all that must be said. For you, your comrades, and I will go down in history as the new Horsemen of the Apocalypse.”

“Hell yeah.” Before Damon can continue his work, he asks another question: “Say, what’s with all this talk of the armageddon? Just big planning? Big hype?”

Bedlam looks away and snickers to himself. “Verily.” He turns his head and glares at Merrick with venom, or really ink, coursing through his body. “I wasn’t always like this. I was once a man. A man seeking adventure and passage from the Old World to the New. Seeking passage to the West, me and my men traversed what would become the Oregon Trail. It was 1838 when we settled on these beautiful lands, and it was 2010 when we saw these lands brought down by all the garbage within it. The youth were defecating on the name that we created, so we settled on finding a way to make things right. As ghosts, we did. I did. And I aided in the arrival of the end of days. But that was another time. In this new time, I was stopped. And life moved on. Life and its youth ruined things as it always did, and the dirt that thrived on it thrived more than ever. Now, I am here to make things right.”

Damon yawns, both tired and confused, and asks, “W-why are you telling me all this?”

“Because it wouldn’t matter. After all, you are merely what you leave for others.” A black tendril, of Bedlam's ink-blood, stabs Damon through his spine, much to his shock. “And you will be the tool for which I will destroy not only Arcadia Bay, but the land around it. I have already tested on other planets, and they alone are too far to reach without… dangerous means. Means which I will use only in the event that my scheme comes tumbling down. For now, life goes on. But with the twist of this watch, it will all end. Thank you for listening, Damon. You were better off dead anyways.” As the tendrils extend and wrap around the unfortunate criminal, Bedlam picks up the spray can rather gleefully. “I suppose I should do you one last favor. You help me, I help you.”

And so he sprays.

DON’T MESS

WITH

DEATH

And so the day goes on. Or rather, it ends. Midnight strikes.

Days Until Christmas: 1

"It is almost time."


	10. End of the World Parties

“Are you ready, Victoria?”

Dressed to impress in a gorgeous red jumpsuit, with the yellow feather jacket stolen off of Lord Laundry’s back, a pair of fancy black sneakers on her feet, and a snappy red beret on her head, she tells her spiffily dressed mother, “I suppose this can be fun. Open bar?”

Colin laughs as he tightens his tie: “In your dreams, kid.” As he looks at himself in the mirror and combs his silver hair, he states, “Oh, so, about Monty. He's serving food tonight.”

Victoria grins and exclaims with a snap of her fingers, “I knew it!” She snickers to herself, happy to see the old man again. As she crosses her arms, she asks, “You don't think he's still mad about the vodka thing, is he?”

Colin shrugs his shoulders. “I'm not.”

“Yeah, me neither,'' says Zara by his side. “It was a long time ago.”

“Cool.” Victoria plants golden-rimmed sunglasses over her eyes and tells her parents with a thin smile, “Then, let's get this party over with.”

* * *

In the Main Hall of Blackwell, Max clinks a spoon against her blue Solo cup so as to get everybody’s attention. Looking at her many friends as they look back at her happily, she says to them all from the head of the looooong dining table, “Thank you for coming, all of you. Tonight will be a very big night for the world. And I'm happy to have you all here to help save it. There are more people who I wish were here to help out - friends. Family. You're all my family. And so are the people who couldn't come, for reasons of their own.” She looks at Kate with a knowing smirk and continues: “But, no matter what, we will fight to save the world and save each other. Before we get to the delicious food before us, I want you all to make a vow. That we do whatever it takes to keep each other alive. Have each other's backs, aid one another, fight until your very last breath, and maybe even after that. I'm… so happy to call each and every one of you my family.” The heroes applaud her and Max returns to her seat with Chloe by her side. “Now, for a prayer from our dearest friend, Kate Marsh.”

The applause gently dies down as Kate rises from her seat. Floating just inches from the ground, she summons a cross from the light surrounding them all. “Thank you. Lord, please grant us health and protection in these times, as we approach what may be the end. Give us the strength to make sure the world sees even one more day past what could very well be its last. Give us the strength to sacrifice what we must to ensure that our fellow man live their lives to their fullest conclusions. And that our greatest loves achieve peace in these trying times. Amen.” She smiles to herself as she does the Sign of the Cross, keeping Victoria in her heart. 

While the cross dissolves over the many warriors, murmurs of “Amen” are heard. Max too tells her friend, “Amen. Thank you, Kate.” She nods and heads outside the building with Max and Chloe for a brief discussion. Just moments prior, she had learned of the sacrifice, the duality of the final choice, and just how important it was to victory, and to Victoria. She had also learned of Bedlam’s current location and that she’d be vital in his defeat.

Both Max and Chloe wrap Kate in their arms, sharing their sympathy for the ensuing plight. Max tells her, “I’m sorry that it has to happen. But, if we need the best ending…”

Kate shrugs her shoulders, not out of spite but out of acceptance and to convey some relief between the trio. “Don’t worry, Max. In this line of work, we do whatever it takes to save the world. Whatever it takes to save the people we love.”

Max crosses her arms and sighs, keeping a smirk on her face so that Kate too can be kept at peace. At least for the moment. “Vic wouldn’t agree, would she?”

Kate places a hand on her shoulder and looks out at the Ocean in its shimmering beauty. With the light in her eyes and the love in her heart, she assures Max, “She’ll understand.”

* * *

TEXT FROM VICTORIA

_ Wow _

_ It has sorta sucked over here _

_ And sorta not _

TEXT FROM KATE

_ Are you ok? _

TEXT FROM VICTORIA

_ Actually _

_ Yes _

_ My parents DIDN’T screw me over _

_ Someone else did >:$ _

_ And Im gonna find out _

TEXT FROM KATE

_ Chase them down babe! _

TEXT FROM VICTORIA

_ Ayyy thx _

_ Also, you look hella cute in that costume _

_ Up and at em, Super-Katie! _

TEXT FROM KATE

_ It’s warm too _

_ But it’d be warmer with you _

TEXT FROM VICTORIA

_ Dawwww _

_ Well, good luck with the evil tattoo _

_ I love you <3 _

TEXT FROM KATE

_ Good luck with the Agency! _

_ I love you too. _

_ Always. _

* * *

At the door to the party, a soldier stands. A soldier clad in black with an elf hat on top. He asks a father and son, “Names.”

The dad, smug and sweaty, tells the soldier with a shit-eating grin on his face, “Jebediah Holloway. And this is my eldest boy, Eric.”

The soldier checks his list, and he checks it twice. _ Can’t let in no dirty metahuman mice _, per Prescott and the other higher-ups’ orders. “You two are invited. Come in.” And the two snakes slither on in, reclaiming their metal belongings as the detector clears them under a green bulb.

The soldier moves on to the next person on line, boredly asking a simple request: “Name.” No response from the man standing before him with a dusty trenchcoat and a stuffed backpack, nor any metal belongings placed on the side for clearance. He asks again, “Name?” The trenchcoated trader takes out a business card - or rather, an index card with the word “MERCHANT” shoddily scribbled on it - and hands it to the soldier. He checks his list and sees the name (alias?) “You are invited… for some reason. Come in.” And so, the Merchant steps inside with a violent _ DEETDEETDEETDEETDEETDEET _ of the metal detector, under a harsh red “this person could be a threat” light. He’s clearly packing heat. A LOT of heat. But that’s to be expected for a man of his speciality in the Christmastime winter wonderlandscape.

The soldier rolls his eyes before swiftly moving on to the next three invitees with their metals tossed aside for clearance. “Names.”

“Colin Chase. This is my wife, Zara, and our daughter, Victoria.”

Before the soldier can even check his list, Sean Prescott pushes past him in an overjoyed hurry, nearly dropping the Santa hat off his head. Basically dragging them “You three are definitely invited! Come along! Come along, the night is young!” The elder Chases step in under green. Victoria, on the other hand: _ DEETDEETDEET _ with a blinking red light. Sean scoffs at the notion of a dangerous Victoria, telling the three, “Oh, ignore that thing, it’s always broken!” With their metals reclaimed, they head inside. "So, how have things been, you three?"

Colin pats Prescott on the shoulder and says, “Things've been good in Seattle. Lotsa traffic coming through the Chase Space.

Victoria looks around at the prelude to partying, as the rich strike up conversation with one another about many, many things: war, campaigning, business, sales, “Edge of Tomorrow”. Both the movie and the show.

“YO. What's going on with you?”

Victoria regrettably turns her attention back to Prescott and tells him boredly, “Me? Oh, just got married. Had a fun honeymoon.”

He laughs in shock at the mere idea of this kid’s current lifestyle, asking, “Ma-married?! At 19? Kids today, getting married like… uh, like.”

She rolls her eyes at him, annoyed by him more and more every second. “Yeah, me and Kate got married. Young. Fun honeymoon in Tokyo, Hawaii. It’s been… it’s been the best time of my life. Not even marriage, really, just being with Katie.”

Although he’s slightly taken aback by this monologue of hers, Sean looks around with a stunned grin on his face and asks, just a little bit hurt inside, “Why’d no one tell me?”

Colin answers, “We figured you wouldn’t be interested.” Victoria feels like laughing in Prescott’s face. Of course, she doesn’t see herself doing that, but it’s nice to feel the idea of it.

The Prescott patriarch snaps his fingers, like the thieving fox he is, and declares in feigned defeat, “Aw, maaaan!”

That feeling Victoria had - the happy one - gets overtaken by her usual feeling toward Shit Prescott. She spitefully tells him, through gritted teeth, “Yeah. ‘Aw man’, of course you weren’t invited. Just as I wasn’t invited here.”

And although Prescott feels like shooting back, he knows she’s right. Yet he doesn’t know how she would know. So he masks it with some humor: “Feistyyyyyy. It was worth a shot asking.” The Chases and their friend walk through the fog they’re in, awkwardly in silence. “So my day’s been good too. Thanks for asking.”

Victoria looks out the window, out at Independence, and remarks, “That sucks to hear.”

* * *

Outside and unseen, the Enforcers are at work planting a potted thornbush just outside of the base. It speaks, with a golden skull head, “Little bit to the left, just a few feet forwaaaard. Here!” They plop it down on the ground, an audience for armageddon. He giddily tells the goons, “See you on the other side, boys.”

And they march forward to the base, ready for war.

* * *

The sun sets on Arcadia Bay as clouds chock full of light snowfall approach from above. Also making their entrance, into the graveyard rather, are Arcadia Bay's top fighting girls - Max, Chloe, Rachel and Kate. They're all dressed up for a fight, one they hope will end early and with minimal damage. One Max knows won't end like that.

Passing by the gravestones of dead new and old alike prompts Rachel to say, “This place gives me the creeps.”

Chloe tells her, with a reassuring smile, "That makes two of us, Rach." 

Max tells her friends, “They’re in here somewhere.”

Kate asks, “‘They’?”

“Bedlam and Damon. Everyone else is in Missouri.”

Rachel asks, “Should we give Vic a heads up?”

Kate tells her, and the other two friends accompanying her, “She knows already.”

Remembering Vic's sort of "Spidey Sense" granted by the Surging Champagne, Rachel remarks, “Oh. Yeah.” She looks over to Max and asks, “Will she be okay?”

Chloe speaks for Max, and with the utmost confidence, “She’ll be fine! Everything will be fine."

And so, they march on, deeper into the darkness. But in unity, they stand in the light. Namely Kate's light. Because she can do that.

As they move along, someone else accompanies them. An old soul, literally, who wishes to help them. That old soul taps Chloe on the shoulder and asks, “Need any help, Chloe?”

She turns to face the familiar spirit and calls out to him happily: “Dad!”

Kate looks at the apparition, recognizing the familiarity between the two, and asks, “Mr. Price?”

“Call me William. I’ve heard of you two. And I know you, of course, Max.”

Max wraps her arms around William in an attempt to give him a hug. She asks, “What brings you here?”

“Tonight is going to be an important night for the world. And we’re here to back you up.”

Chloe squints at her old man and asks, “We?”

From nowhere and from everywhere, ghosts appear. Ghosts with the faces of Arcadia Bay’s deceased. Ghosts who stand behind William, and stand with our heroines in defiance of death.

William tells the girls, with excellent timing, “Oui oui. Bedlam thinks he can control death. And he kinda can. But that’s just a bunch of nonsense. Teach that bully a lesson and kick his ass.” William pulls a coin from his pants pocket and flicks it to Chloe.

She catches it and laughs, remembering an old tradition. To herself and to her friends, she mutters happily, “Dollar for the swear jar.”

“That’s my girl.” William looks to the crowd of ghosts and tells his deceased daughter, “No offense, Chloe.”

The ghost snickers, well-aware of the confusion to arise from a statement like that, and adds, “None taken!” As the four heroes move forward, Ghost-Chloe tells the crew, “We’ll have your back, guys.” She ascends into the sky and dozens of ghosts follow after her, all headed back into town.

Max tells her friends triumphantly and with resolve, “Let’s do this.” And so, they march forward into battle, knowing Bedlam is not too far away.

* * *

“Name.”

“Tangi T. H. Clown, Elmer Henson and Lord Laundry, uh, Cunningham. Of France.”

The soldier doesn't check his list because they aren't on there, obviously. Still… “You three are expected. Come in.” He tells them this with a robotic, hypnotized cadence to his voice. He clears the way for them without a care in the world. Not completely without care, but with a mind clouded in a psychic cocoon.

Elmer pats the soldier on the head as he and the other two Enforcers come in. “Thanks, pig.” Entering their sight as they themselves enter the facility is Dolly Doctor Court, grinning from ear to ear.

She walks by their side and says giddily, “Ah, we’ve be- uh, I’ve been expecting you.”

Tangi yawns, having driven day and night from Oregon to Missouri, and asks, “Could you have not just teleported us here or something?”

The Doctor looks around nervously and shushes the clown. “No, I can’t really do that. Especially when I’m so busy with so many bodies. Most I can do is, maybe, cause a blizzard or something. You’ve got the shield generator?”

Elmer pulls the briefcase from his leather jacket and tells her, “Of course. You heard about Damon?”

Court jokes, “That guy, he’s got a lot on his… palette.”

Nervously looking at the soldiers staring back at them, Tangi asks, “Can we have some disguises?”

Knowing that those soldiers are under her control and thus won’t be seeing anything, Court tells them, “No. Remember, you won’t be in the center of the Ballroom first, you’ll set up the generator outside in the center of the base by some bushes or some shit and put it on a timer. Like, ten minutes. Then, you’ll be hiding in the grates until the time is right. Then, I will strike, and that’ll be your cue to bust out of the Ballroom” She leads the trio of terror to a ventilation shaft, one that leads to both destinations. She opens it with her hand as it disassembles into a series of tendrils and pushes the villains in: “Now, scurry along. Tonight, we feast on the oligarchy.” She kneels and closes it as they enter.

* * *

Back in the Ballroom, Sean Prescott is busy singing his heart out front and center at the party. He sings Christmas classics with a deep, trained bravado:

“_ Friends call me Snow Miser _

_ Whatever I touch _

_ Turns to snow in my clutch _

_ I'm too much _”

Victoria tries to get her attention off of Prescott’s oddly pleasant singing with a bite of a corn dog from the snack bar. She jokes with her parents, annoyed as all hell, “Good god. He sings now too.”

Zara sighs in subtle agreeance and informs her daughter, “He’s always sung at these functions.”

“He has? Hm.” Looking around at the party going on and all its self-aggrandizing nature, thinks to herself, “_ Must’ve shut it out of my head. _”

With the song wrapped up, Prescott gets off stage and approaches the Chases to ask, “I killed it out there, eh?”

With a smile more forced than even the Force itself would be, Zara tells them, “Totally, Sean! Good work!”

Colin also gives snaps with his forced smile, adding, “Rock on, dude!”

Victoria tosses away the stick of the corn dog she was eating and bluntly tells him, “Could’ve been better.”

To hide his hurt, he comforts himself and the people around him with a harsh laugh, almost like a howl, before telling the girl, “Always a critic, kid. Nathan used to say as much. Must’ve sucked to be him, what with my morning practice!”

“I’d say it sucked to be any one of the many people he hurt.”

Sean shakes his head, telling her with a sly smirk, “You’re not wrong.” The party people around him laugh at the dark humor. Well, everyone whose last name isn’t Chase.

Victoria clarifies, “That wasn’t a joke! He’s a monster.”

“Seriously-” A last laugh escapes his throat, but he perks up and continues, “Seriously, you’re not wrong. He was a messed up kid. And I wish he wasn’t as messed up.”

She knows that, while he wasn’t innocent, Sean Prescott was still his father. And as his father, it was his duty to help him. Disgusted on so many layers, she tells him with a look in her eyes that could poison someone, “Hey, maybe you can wish upon a shooting star for him to get better. Maybe two so you can actually give him a hug for once.”

Considering the madness of the past few months, Sean admits half-jokingly, “Maybe I did.” Victoria looks at him with a raised eyebrow, kinda shocked at this admittance. “And it didn’t work, but I tried anyways.”

“You’re an impossible bastard.”

Sean grins his trademark sinner’s smile. Behind his sunglasses, he glares at her with a heavy ire. “I’m an indomitable one, kid. Please, keep on trying to spite me. You and all the other Blackwell kids are all the same, with your Twitters.” He escorts a random group of partying “philanthropists”, telling them briskly, “Come now, let’s talk somewhere else, guys.”

As they leave, Victoria scoffs in disgust. “We’ll see. Old man.”

And surprisingly, her parents aren’t upset with her. Rather, they pat her on the back and whisper to her simultaneously, “Proud of you.” She looks over her shoulders and sees their honest smirks. She laughs and smiles at them too. They break away, spotting someone behind their backs that Victoria can’t see. And this unseen person speaks to her with an uppity posh accent that she remembers all too well: “He is rather ‘indomitable’, isn’t he?”

She spots the man talking to her, this fatherly being. And she smiles. “Monty?”

“Yes, that is my-” Victoria wraps her arms around him in an intense hug and that small smile on her face. “Miss Chase, I must be following my duties, and your hug is in my way.”

She puts her arms at her side and tells him as he starts walking away, “Sorry, sorry, I’ll just follow along.”

“You might as well.” And so, Victoria does as she pleases, walking by his side.

She asks, “How have you been?”

“I have been good, all things considered. Mister Prescott pays very well, and that is all my NDA allows.”

Slyly, Victoria says, “That’s funny.”

Dryly, he informs her, “As is sarcasm. Ha ha.” Passing through a small circle of aging Richie Riches, he adds, “If you’re looking for the bar, I am surprised you haven’t found it.”

Victoria points to him: “You’re the bar!”

“No.” Looking around at the partygoers, he asks, “Don’t you wish to be hanging with the other eccentric youths of America?”

“Uhhhh… No thanks, I’m good. I was forced to come.”

“Care for a bargain?” Victoria looks at the odd speaker - the Merchant - and shows him silence in response. She shakes her head and continues walking with Montrose. The Merchant is unbothered, telling her with a friendly wave goodbye, “Another time then!”

Victoria asks her old family friend, “So anyways, about that thing a couple years ago, at Mount Rushmore?”

“You think I am still mad about that?” She nods her head. “Because I’m not. That was a long time ago. Three years, to be precise.”

Victoria hums in astonishment, adding, “Holy shit, it’s been so long. Thank you for forgiving me, Monty.” She wraps him up in another hug, something that Sean Prescott can see.

The butler lightly leaves the hug and tells her, “I appreciate the hug, Miss Chase. But I must return to my duties. Please, do enjoy the party.”

“Thanks! You too! It was good seeing you.”

“Aye.” And like that, he disappears into the party. With a smile, Victoria pulls out her phone and texts her parents.

TEXT FROM VICTORIA CHASE

_ Guys, just saw Monty. He forgives me! _

_ Happy face! _

TEXT FROM ZARA CHASE

_ That’s amazing sweetie! *star emoji* *star emoji* *star emoji* _

TEXT FROM COLIN CHASE

_ Two thumbs up! _

_ *thumbs up emoji* *thumbs up emoji* _

Victoria grins openly at the messages and her parents’ unusually perky demeanor. To celebrate, she heads to the bar, which she finally spots, and asks the portly bartender with a fiery energy, “What do you have here?”

The bartender crosses his arms like a guardian at some gates. “Depends on if you’re over 21.”

Victoria laughs defiantly. “Oh, I’m over 21. Obviously. So, I’ll take, maybe, a…” She spots her parents and Monty too, all in the crowd having the time of their lives. And she figures, maybe now would be a good time to just be their good little girl they’ve raised. And not the party animal Blackwell once knew her to be. Except towards scumbags like Prescott. Fuck that guy. “A virgin rum and coke.”

“You want the Happy Meal with that too?”

Victoria accepts her drink and mouths a message for the bartender, figuring that a minute reminder of the Queen Bee is in order: “fuck you”. And she walks into the party to have a good time, only elevated by the bartender’s astonished laughter. She laughs too, shooting a smirk his way out of not-so-spiteful forgiveness. And it feels nice.

* * *

Looking up at the jumbo-sized Jumbo, Penny of the young drifters asks with great intrigue, “So your deal is you grow large?”

“Mhm.”

Daniel tells his friend, “It’s so cool!”

Warren walks by and asks him, “Can you grow small?”

Jumbo shakes his head, telling him, “No.”

“Can you grow to the size of, uh, the Empire State Building?”

Jumbo shrugs his shoulders as he looks off into the sunset skies of Arcadia Bay. “Maybe. That’d be rad as shit.”

Suddenly, Chloe speaks from out of the blue: “So you're the new guys? I dig it.” She waves at them all before spotting Steph and Mikey setting up traps in town. She floats over and says with a smile, “Hi, Steph. Hi, Mikey. Long time no see.” She puts up two fists and allows her old DnD friends to bump them with their own fists. Or at least they try, what with Chloe being a non corporeal being and all.

Jumbo bows his head to catch a glimpse at this ghost with the people on the ground. Worried, he exclaims, “Chloe! Oh, no, you’re dead? Again?!”

“No. Yes. It’s weird. You know how there was a Chloe from here?”

“Yeah.” Everyone’s silence answers her question. “Ohhhhh.” He nods his head and states, “So ghosts exist. That’s neat.”

Chloe shakes her hand, explaining, “Kinda. We can only really show up in dreams, unless we’re at full power. Then, we can pull some ‘Avengers Assemble’ shit.” Seeing as the reference is lost on everyone, she realizes her mistake: “Crap, that movie isn’t out yet. Forget I said anything about that!” Everyone decides to, just to escape further confusion.

Waltzing over with his cane, Master Gohdo asks, “What is everyone’s status in the cemetery?”

“Oh, they’re approaching Bedlam right now.”

Daniel speaks for just about everyone when he exclaims shockedly, “Already?”

The ghost Chloe shrugs her shoulders: “They can’t really beat the shit out of him without getting closer, can they?”

Taking charge, Jumbo stands with his head in the clouds and tells everyone, “Crap, it’s happening. Get ready!” The warriors enter their battle stations as the friendly ghosts of Arcadia Bay’s past flutter through the skies and Arcadia Bay’s best defenses run around to prepare for WAR.


	11. Time For Parties And Celebration

Further into the cemetery, blackened vines hang off of the trees, entangle themselves around the gravestones, and dig deep into the dirt. Chloe remarks, “Judging from all the weird shit around here, we’re getting close.”

In a tone that so heavily wants to be like Jack Bauer or Big Boss, William tells the four heroines, “I’ll do reconnaissance. And I’ll stay close by. Tread carefully, girls.”

Max nods her head and tells him, “Will do.” And so, William dashes through the graveyard and jumps into a mausoleum.

Suddenly, another voice speaks as the four reach the center of the cemetery: “Just don’t get too close, children.”

The four glare at the source of the voice: Bedlam, larger and stronger than ever. He has outgrown his thin limbs, trading them for golden armor to match his skull. Within the armor are verdant shrubbery poking out of the armor, acting as muscles. Wrapped around his neck are dark velvet robes just inches off the ground. He stands at the side of Damon Merrick, also entangled in black tentacles that keep him suspended above the ground.

Raising an eyebrow at her bulked-out tattoo, Chloe asks with a bit of a nervous chuckle, “You, uh, been juicing?”

* * *

Tangi stares intently at his opponents, thinking back on his journey and theirs. How far they have all come. Where it has brought them at this current moment. And he tells them: “Welcome to the end of the world, young ladies.”

Patting the head of the Holloway family on his shoulder, Sean Prescott tells him with a smile, “Congrats on your wife’s recovery, Jebby! Hope to see her again some time!” To end the conversation, he walks away to mingle further.

He happens to bump into the trenchcoated Merchant, who calls out to him from just a few feet away, “Got somethin’ that might interest ya!”

As he tries to open his jacket, Sean stops him in his tracks. “No, no, but try one of the Senators.” He looks off and spots one of them: “Steve! This guy wants to make a deal!” He pats the Merchant on the back and tells him, “Go get ‘im, you… fuckin’ weirdo.” And so, the Merchant runs off into the crowd in search of Senator Steve.

Prescott sighs, feeling pretty fulfilled by the party around him. And then, he sees Doctor Court waltzing around in her usual silver business attire. “Doctor, how are you enjoying the party?”

“It’s fine. But it could be much better.” She motions for him to head to the balcony and he follows, seeing as she has something to say.

“How so?”

Tapping her chin, the Doctor explains, “Maybe if we got rid of some of these guests. They can be so drab.”

With a shiver from the shit-cold weather outside, he asks, “Like who?”

The Doctor scoffs like an annoyed child and answers, “Like you.”

“Excuse me?”

“You didn’t burp. I didn’t stutter.”

Reaching into his jacket for his deterrent against any more of the Doctor’s treachery, he tells her, “And I hope you haven’t forgotten about my controller.”

The Doctor looks at the controller, a bit confused. And she starts laughing with a big grin on her face. “Oh, I haven’t. Although I didn’t think you’d put one in her if she’s been so instrumental to, well, everything.” Tired of these charades, Prescott pulls out the controller… or so he thinks, instead pulling out a small turtle… with wings. It flies off into the night and the Doctor smirks. “You’re so easy, you know that?”

Putting his hands up in apparent defeat, he asks, “Who are you?”

She looks around in confusion. She’d figured her mannerisms, her chipper voice, and the fact that she leveled an Agency base back in March would have given away her identity, or at least some sort of clout. Chuckling, she simply explains, “Seriously? I’m Dolly!” Seeing Sean’s jaw drop at the sound of that dreaded name, the Doctor adds, “GASP! I agree.”

“What do you want?”

The Doc grabs Prescott by his shoulders and explains: “I just wanted my place in the world. You and Doc Court helped me hone into it, getting me out of Nevada and into a testing chamber. And Bedlam showed me the next step in my metamorphosis.” Prescott raises an eyebrow, not knowing of this Bedlam fellow. “You wouldn’t know him. Not in this timeline anyways. It doesn’t matter. I’ve learned my destiny. I am a messenger for Death himself. Me and my pals will bring about the end of the world, and it’ll be a doozy. Of course, we’ve got those pesky lesbians to deal with… and they are quite pesky. But it’ll be fun, even if they beat us. Which, uh, they will.”

“So what, you just go with the flow? Even if you know you’ll lose?”

Doc shrugs her shoulders: “Even if I know I’ll lose. I’ve seen the future. I saw it in Max. I saw it in the Transect. I saw it in the OTHER MAX. That’s the way it goes, almost no matter what I do.”

Prescott grabs her by the neck and demands, “So give up this game, you sick bitch!”

In response, she screams in his face,“What would be the fun in that?!” As she does so, her face begins to warp and whirl in his eyes. “But then again, you’d know a lot about giving up.” She pushes him away and lets his head spin for a few seconds as she prepares another party trick: “Tell me, when I say ‘it’s easy to give up’… Who do you see?”

Prescott opens his eyes, but can’t bear to see who is now standing at the Doctor’s side.

Flicking him in the face, the Doctor demands, “Open your damn eyes, Moneybags, and tell me WHO DO YOU SEE?”  
He sees his son.

With him under her spell, Moth-Dolly flutters around his head before finally perching on his shoulder to tell him, “Now, follow the leader while I get changed.” And the two begin walking back into the party, effectively undetected.

And before the games begin, the Doc answers a message on her walkie-talkie at her waist that says, from Tangi, “Okay, Doll- er, Doc - the generator’s set up. It’ll be on in just a few minutes.”

“So ten minutes, right?”

The Clown laughs nervously before immediately answering, “Uh, actually, it’s five. We kinda forgot.”

The Doc rolls her eyes and sighs. “Okay. Five min-”

“Now, it’s four minutes.”

Doc grabs the walkie-talkie and speaks straight into it, “Shut the fuck up and just get ready, alright?”

“On it, boss.”

* * *

In the air, “Merry Christmas Everyone” by Shakin’ Stevens courses through the party thanks to its DJ. As Victoria gulps down her soda, she smiles as she passes by the younger children. All they care about is running after each other in some strange game of tag. A rather rough game of tag, but that’s just how she was once. And it’s almost as if that violence is rubbing off on her, because her head starts ringing, just lightly anyways. It has tended to do that before moments of great distress. Namely, moments where supervillains feel the need to ruin everyone’s holidays.

“Aw, shit.” Quickly, and yet with caution so as to not cause a ruckus, she pushes through the partiers in search of her parents. She can’t see them, but she knows they’re in this crowd somewhere. Just a matter of- “There you are!” She walks up to her parents as they lean back by the punch bowl. She tells them with terror in her voice, “Mom, Dad, we’ve gotta go. Someone’s gonna attack this place and people are gonna get hurt.”

The two hold her close, seeing her anxious behavior, and Zara asks, “What? Victoria, are you okay?”

She shrugs her shoulders and explains, “I mean, I’m fine. But I’ve got a bad feeling about this party, I think we need to go.”

Colin scratches the back of his head and tells her reassuringly, “Things are locked down tight. We’re all good.”

“But I got through the metal detectorrrr…” Victoria starts mentally backspacing before she confesses to her possession of a gun at this party. She sighs in an attempt to just end the convo ASAP and looks at the unaware crowd of partiers as they dance. Badly.

Colin asks, suspicious at the awkward silence, “And?”

“Aaaaand…” She scratches at her beret and it crinkles. With a rather devious smile on her face, she confesses, “I’ve got tin foil in my hat.”

Her parents both glance at each other blankly, just dumbfounded at what their daughter just said. Zara reassuringly tells her, “Everything will be fine, Vic. Just relax.” Victoria groans and, to appease her feelings, she states with a well-aware smile, “Although, I suppose we can leave soon, if you really want to.”

Victoria perks up and tells her parents, “Cool, let’s leave now.” And so, they begin walking out of the Ballroom. However, she remembers just one more person to save: “Wait. Where’s Montrose?”

Colin asks, “You want him to come with us?”

Shrugging her shoulders, Victoria says, “He can visit, right? I don’t think Prescott would stop…” She thinks about that statement before quickly adding, “Okay, maybe he would. But I need to warn him at least. You two can go a little early, I’ll see you in a little bit.”

Quickly, she pushes through the crowd, as she has had to for the last little while, in a desperate hunt for the butler. But he is nowhere to be seen and time is ticking down.

And then, it begins with a bang.

An explosion erupts in the heart of the Ballroom as Lord Laundry pulls himself from the wreckage. The music abruptly stops as the DJ hides in an understandable panic. Stepping past dazed partiers and seemingly compliant guards, he makes way for the entrance of Elmer and Tangi, both sitting on a table as it hovers into the air. And finally, the leader of this gang of villains flutters over them all. Back in a human body and outfit like her old one no less, and with pink moth wings on her back.

She speaks angrily and simply: “Ladies and gents, you have eaten well. Eaten at this country’s heart and spirit. Normally, I’d praise ya for that, but not you people. From this moment forth, none of you are safe.” She raises her palms into the air and yells, “WELCOME TO THE THUNDER GLOBE!”

Victoria hides herself in the crowd and glares at Dolly, pissed at her inexplicable return. She keeps one hand on her hat, to keep it from falling off, and lowers her other to grab her gun from her ankle holster, hidden under her outfit. And quickly, with perhaps not enough time to truly consider her next plan of action, she aims at Dolly’s face and she fires and hits her square in the chest.

But the bullet doesn’t kill her, instead ricocheting into the ceiling. Angrily, Victoria grumbles, “Shit.” The crowd explodes into a panic and people begin running in all directions, giving Victoria something of a smokescreen to hide in.

And yet, by scanning everyone’s thoughts, Dolly detects who shot her and where they’ve gone. “Victoria Chase! Oh, how I’ve missed her lame action hero shenanigans!” Sensing more thoughts from the unwitting populace, Dolly tells the Enforcers, “She’s headed for the bathrooms. Take her down! And you!” She points at the DJ as he hides behind his sound system. He peeks at her fearfully and the villainess tells him, “Play that good shit again, I was digging it!” The DJ nervously turns the music back on, just the perfect background for the Enforcers’ Yuletide Evil Scheme.

With a salute to their de facto leader, they chase after Victoria. They violently push past anyone in their way, regardless of gender and age, and make their way through to the women’s bathroom.

Elmer and Lord Laundry step forward while Tangi sniffs into the air with his bulbous red clown nose and threatens, “I can smell your scent, Icky Vicky. You’re in one of these stalls. Give up! There’s no way out of here!”

In her head, Victoria fires back, “_ I can think of one. _” Standing on a stall, Victoria pulls out her phone to send a message to Kate:

TEXT FROM VICTORIA

_ KAtie _

_ Villains attacking at the party _

_ Please be careful _

She sends it successfully and she lets out a sigh of relief. But mere seconds later, the entire facility begins to rumble. A crackle is felt in the air as the base becomes enveloped and shielded by a giant forcefield the size of three football fields.

And to make matters worse, the door shielding Victoria from her enemies is torn away by Lord Laundry.

Elmer asks on the Lord’s behalf, “Oh, I’m sorry. Is this stall taken?”

* * *

Having heard Bedlam’s motivations for destroying the Bay, Chloe asks rather mockingly, “Okay, so you’re a pissed off colonist obsessed with the ‘good old days’?”

Max, Kate and Rachel stifle laughter, much to Bedlam’s annoyance. With a smile still stuck on her face, Rachel asks, “Why attach yourself to Chloe though? She’s, like, anti-’good old days’! And we love her for it!”

Bedlam glares at her and explains, “I felt her hatred for the town. And I felt yours. In your love for one another and your hatred for this failed future, I found kindred spirits. And so, I used your lifeline, so to speak, to summon a storm to destroy Arcadia Bay.”

With eyes widened in shock, Chloe elaborates, “Christ, dude, I mean, that’s not at all what I would’ve wanted! There are still a lot of good people in this town! More than just me and Rachel!”

“It mattered little. If I had to align myself with that damned Victoria Chase, it would’ve been a necessary next step in my plan.”

Max asks, “What about Kate? She should be spared too, at the barest of bare minimums!”

“A noble sacrifice, assuming she weren’t dead already.” Kate raises an eyebrow at this strange notion and Bedlam continues, “But monologue is for the past. And this is the future. It is the Arcadian Armageddon!” He raises his right arm and shows off Teddy’s broken wormhole watch that he extracted from the ruins of his mansion. “Same for this here watch.”

Kate asks, “Is that your Plan B?”

“‘C’. Or rather, ‘C.A.V.B.H.’ for ‘Complete Annihilation Via Black Hole’. ‘B’ would have been utilizing the Staff of the Storm Singer, but it appears to be missing.”

Chloe pulls out her pistol and aims at it Bedlam, yelling, “Bullshit! That’s what all your plans are! You won’t get that far in hurting people. Max agrees. Right?” She looks at Max who is nervously whistling. She also looks at Kate who is currently receiving a text message on her phone. Chloe groans and declares, “Oh, whatever. We’ll beat you anyways!”

“Oh no, I’ve gotta go.” Kate holds up her phone and explains, “It’s Victoria. She’s-”

Max pats her on the shoulder and tells her with a smile, “Go, Kate. She needs you. We can handle things here.”

As Kate sprouts wings of light from her back, Bedlam says hastily, “I’m willing to spare you, Kathryn, should you leave her to her fate. We both know she’s not worth-” She makes a gun gesture with her hand and fires a red beam of light that chops off his right arm at the elbow. Bedlam screams as he falls to his knees and clutches his wound, “You WENCH!”

And so, Kate flies off into the night as Max, Chloe and Rachel wave her goodbye. “Shine on, Kate! Shine on and save her!”

Bedlam rises to his feet and scoffs at his three apparent enemies. “Your best attempt at stopping me is gone.”

With a smug smirk, Chloe rebutts, “For now.”

Bedlam shakes his head at this. “For now.”

Swiftly, Rachel retrieves the wormhole watch with a small tornado. Once it is in her possession, she jumps into the town to take it away from Bedlam. Noticing these two absences, he grits his teeth and screams, “GO!”

From behind him, a zombie runs past him and screeches her dead lungs out. Chloe manages to grab the zombie in a chokehold and notices the dull blue hair on her head. She comes to the horrifying realization that this isn’t just any zombie leading the charge. This is her dead self from this timeline.

More zombies rise behind Bedlam, all ready to devour the world and kill it too.

* * *

Scrolling through Victoria’s most recent messages, Tangi mockingly says to her as she lies on the floor, “Awww, your final goodbyes.” He tosses the phone to Lord Laundry who crushes it in his palm. “Shoulda said ‘bye bye’ to that too.”

Victoria lays on the floor with a gratuitous amount of duct tape keeping her restrained. She asks, clearly annoyed at this whole situation more than anything else, “What are you assholes being paid in? Isn’t the world gonna end if all goes well?”

Tangi squats on the ground and pats Victoria’s face before explaining, “Oh, the bosses know they’re going down. Sort of a, uh, ‘dramatic irony’. But, in their sacrifice and resolve, we’ll be living lavishly once we’re free. Tell me, rich girl, how’s it like?” Victoria can only glare at him in spite. “Silent treatment.” Tangi sucks his teeth and sighs. He then pulls out a shotgun from the back of his pants and aims it straight at her face. “Guess you’ll have no last words.”

Elmer swiftly pulls away the shotgun and exclaims angrily, “Yo, bro, what the fuck?!”

“What? This is the plan. We shoot her, show the world how serious we are!”

Looking at Victoria, he continues, “I mean, she’s a mean girl and all, but we can’t just KILL her!” He lightly punches the Lord and says, “Back me up, Lord.” The Lord can’t speak of course, so he just nods his head.

Tangi laughs, astounded at this show of morality, and yells, “The world NEEDS to see this!”

Another voice from another stall speaks: “The world wouldn’t see this. Nor would they care.” From within this other stall steps the Other Max, wearing her jacket and camera helmet. She gazes at Victoria in this position of vulnerability and laughs.

Rolling her eyes, Victoria says with great disdain, “Oh, you’re working with them. For fuck’s sake.”

“I missed you too.” She steps past her and explains, “Trust me, I’m busier with other affairs to be working here. Otherwise, I’d be lending a helping hand. But the Enforcers are doing good right now, number wise, so we’ll meet again next time.”

Attempting to tear herself out of the duct tape, Victoria yells at her, “There won’t be a next time! When Dolly and Bedlam go down, you’re next on the list.”

Behind her helmet’s lens, the Other Max cackles. After stifling this laughter, she adds plainly, “And now is the part where I say something cliche like ‘au revoir’. But that’s cheesy, so fuck you, Chase. I hate you. I- I HATE you! I’ll regrettably see you in October. Bye.” She walks into a wormhole and vanishes inside it.

Victoria exchanges looks with the Enforcers in awkward silence, which Tangi breaks by saying, “What a bitch, right?”

Through another wormhole, the Other Max steps out and grabs both Elmer and Lord Laundry by the wrists. “Oh, also, you two are needed elsewhere in the base. ” She pulls them in, leaving Tangi behind with Victoria, much to both of their confusion.

Tangi verbalizes this by screaming, “What the hell!” He sees Victoria laughing at this and aims the shotgun at her. Loading it, he grumbles, “Screw it.”

And as things seem dark, a beam of light whirls into the bathroom and grabs the shotgun, aiming it into the ceiling as the Clown fires. Victoria sees this beam take form and calls out to her with a grin on her face: “Katie!”

Kate looks at her and, from behind her mask, smiles back at her love. Melting the shotgun in her grasp, she tosses the hunk of metal at Tangi’s face, knocking him into a garbage bin. She then fixes her attention on Victoria and lifts her off the ground.

While exchanging loving glances with one another, the two get rid of the duct tape and set their sights back on the Clown. 

He can only huff anxiously as he knows what comes next. He gets down on his knees and puts his hands together, begging, “I’m down, I’m down!”

But there is no mercy with these two as they just curbstomp him right then and there. NO MERCY.

As the Clown lies on the floor, brutalized, Victoria wraps her arms around Kate in a bear hug and says to her, “Oh, Kate, oh my god, I’ve missed you so much.”

Patting her on the back, Kate adds, “Likewise, Vic. You’re doing good?”

Victoria looks back on what her predicament was just a few minutes earlier and tells her, “Aside from being held at gunpoint by a clown… Yeah.” The two separate and Victoria asks, “How’d you get in?”

Kate shrugs her shoulders as she admits plainly, “I just flew in. Right through the shield.”

Victoria scratches at the back of her head and asks, confused, “Like, just FLEW in?” When Kate nods her head, Victoria tells her, “Nice. Can you get us, and my parents, and Montrose out?”

“Not sure.” Kate strokes her chin and explains, “The forcefield’s made of light, so it was a piece of cake for me, but I dunno if I could bring other people out. Plus, we need to stop Dolly and the other bad guys too.”

“Yeah.” Dusting herself off and delivering another kick to Tangi’s face, Victoria adds, “Well, no use standing around doing nothing.” She pulls out her gun and says to Kate, “Let’s get out there and show these… assholes who they’re fucking with!” The two walk out of the bathroom, ready for war with the criminal element at play.


	12. A Strike On Four Points

From the skies over Arcadia Bay, the Marauders of Mars spot the approaching zombie horde. Their leader, Lord Starsight, yells down to the ground forces from atop his flagship, the Glitzed Glider: “Alert, me maties! The undead have risen, and they are approaching at TOP speed!” He grabs his laser sword and aims it at the enemies. “Prepare for war! This shall be the fight of our lives!”

Cracking his knuckles with the young drifters, Master Gohdo, and Dana on his shoulders, Jumbo tells the pirate, “Better not be of our deaths.”

Rose Amber marches to the head of the ground forces, reloading her rifle as she does so. She peeks through her scope and sees the zombies approaching even faster now. Facing the undead, she tells her allies, “Steady.” The zombies are still coming. This is the zombies’ final chance to back down. “Steady!” No turning back… “NOW!” She fires along with the rest of the ground troops, hitting as many creatures as they can.

* * *

All the way across the country, in Washington D.C., an agent of the country darts through pale halls on the route to the Oval Office. Marching inside, the agent tells the Presidential Council - formed following the arrival of nine US Presidents from all throughout time, in addition to the incumbent 44th President Barack Obama - with a concerned tone, “Misters and Madams Presidents. Reports are coming in of an attack on the small town of Arcadia Bay. It appears that the dead are rising, being summoned by some sort of… skeleton king.”

President Obama scratches his head and asks her, rather annoyed and wary of a ‘yes’ answer to the following question: “The one in the blue hoodie again?”

Shuddering, she adds, “N-no, sir. This is a different one.” The agent pulls out a folder bulging with files, all pertaining to this apparent apocalypse at hand. The ten Presidents review the evidence as the agent tells them, “In addition, we’ve reported several tremors in the surrounding towns of Culmination and Beaver Creek, as well as a mass jailbreak in Oregon State Penitentiary. How should we proceed?”

Another President, a hovering cephalopod in a tan suit, proposes angrily, “I say we take ‘em off the map. Let’s play nuclear football with this skeleton king.”

A mummified President shakes his hands while telling the squid, “Jesus, man! No! Send in relief efforts!” The other Presidents murmur amongst themselves in apparent approval. “Is it possible that these are related to the hostage situation in Independence?”

“Without a doubt.” Scouring through the files, the agent adds, “We captured this copy of the skeleton king from outside the base in Missouri. He claims to be Bedlam, the Lord of Death.”

Silence befalls the Council before nine of them break it simultaneously: "WHO THE FUCK IS BEDLAM?!"

“Oh, I’ve heard of that guy!”, says a robotic voice coming from a robotic President. “Crap, this is the Fall of Old Oregon?”

The other nine Presidents and the agent yell angrily, “The WHAT?!”

Disregarding her position of power, the agent asks, “You pick RIGHT NOW to tell us this?!” As the robo-President gives a thumbs up, she continues, “Do you know how to beat him?”

The thumbs up stays up still. “It will be out of our hands.” Pacing to the windows so he can see the country’s snowy sleeping capital, he continues: “The details are real… weird. And brief. But we will be saved by light. That is all I know, at least. All that was put in our history books and databanks. Tonight, we do not make history. The people fighting for Oregon do.”

* * *

A wormhole opens in the CCTV Center of the Base and out steps the Other Max with Elmer and Lord Laundry in tow. Sitting by the screens in an office chair, Dolly waves to them as she slides a new metal plate in front of her chest. “Welcome back, boys. Check it out. Mr. P. Lost in a tizzy.” Laying on the floor by her feet is Sean Prescott, securing himself in a fetal position.

Dolly leans into the face of the Agency’s moneyman and asks, in the guise of Nathan in his eyes, “How’s it hangin’, DAD?”

Throwing his fists at the metahuman, Sean Prescott screams, “You’re NOT my son!”

Nathan giggles giddily. “Of course I’m not! Makes it easier to sleep at night, doesn’t it?”

Dolly backs away as Prescott hides his eyes behind his hands. She jokes with them, “And to think, I’d be pulling this shit on lil’ ol’ Max in another universe. All on your orders, Asscott. Life sure can be… obtuse.” She looks at her compatriots, and more specifically at the Other Max, and tells her, “As for you, it is regrettable that you won’t be here with us. You’ll be missing out on the fun.”

The Other Max laughs, figuring that she isn’t wrong. “On the contrary, with the fun I’ve got planned, things are going to get real fucking dark.”

Dolly points at the ceiling with an evil toothy grin growing on her mask: “Dark… uh, the Netflix show.”

The Other Max pats her on the shoulder. “You said it, you. Rawk on!” She opens up another wormhole to a monochromatic room where black robed figures await under a harsh white light.

Dolly cheesily waves goodbye and tells her, “Are revore, mon chair.”

Slightly annoyed at the butchering of the French language, the Other Max says with a giggle, “Y-yeah. Bye.” She walks into the wormhole as it closes behind her, making her exit out of this criminal plot.

For now.

Elmer looks at Sean and kneels in front of him with a smug grin on his face. Getting a peek at the villain, Sean asks angrily, “What are you lookin’ at, porcupine?”

Squinting at the Prescott patriarch, Elmer explains, “I’m looking at a bloated loan shark. What do you-”

“NOT MY SON!”

Elmer jolts back in shock before chuckling to himself. “You're certainly a good judge of character.” Suddenly, a devious idea crosses his mind, and he tells it to Sean: “Buuuut what if I am your kid? Maybe Dolly broke me out the loony bin. You don’t know.” He rubs his index fingers against his temples as he stares Sean straight in the eyes and tells him, “She’s got you losing your head, maaaan!” Prescott almost passes out, so Elmer strolls over to Dolly and asks, “What’s next, boss?”

“I’ve got quite a lot of the Agents rounding up those rich jerks and taking them to the Conference Hall. I’ll round them up and reinvigorate them. Or kill them all. Or something, I dunno, Bedlam really gave me waaaay too much free reign here. But most of all, I’ve gotta capture Vicky and Kate, and maybe get them on my- er, our side.”

The Lord quivers just a bit before exchanging looks with Elmer, who asks, “Wait, her? She’s here too? But how?”

Dolly shrugs her shoulders as she looks at security footage of her arrival. “She controls light. The forcefield’s made of light. She kinda just waltzed through it. Just as fate wills it!”

“So, what, we just hold them off from you?”

Nodding her head, Dolly says, “Yep.”

Elmer scoffs as the Lord crosses his arms in slight doubt. “But they’re so much stronger! They’ve probably beat Tangi, us two are no match on our own.”

“Then, it’s a good thing you’re not alone.” Dolly pulls out an Agency-issued walkie-talkie and waves it next to her face. “Now, go hold them off and I’ll call for backup when the time is right. They’re in the basement offices. Hut! Hut! Hut!”

* * *

Checking for any signal on her phone, only to be faced with zero bars, Victoria sighs. “No signal. Dammit.” She walks through a dull gray hallway with offices surrounding them with Kate by her side. She emanates her sunset-like light while hovering along. “So, how was Arcadia Bay doing? Before you came here, that is.”

“We confronted Bedlam, and I chopped his arm off with a laser beam.” She raises her palm and it fades from a human hand to a red laser one.

“Nice! Did it hurt him?”

Shaking her hand back into a human hand, Kate explains, “It sure looked like it.”

“Awesome. I guess your dad was right, huh?” The two laugh, remembering that convo at the Two Whales Diner. Still, Victoria tensely asks, “You think Max and Chloe can handle whatever’s going on?”

Kate hums in humble disagreement before telling her, “They’ve got a sizable army. They can handle the zombie horde. But what we’re doing is handling this whole scenario.”

Victoria slowly nods her head, trying to wrap it around the idea of a "zombie horde" laying waste to Arcadia Bay. “Right.” Putting that aside, she asks Kate, “Did Bedlam mention what this is, by the way? Like, his endgame?”

“Just that he wants to destroy Arcadia Bay because of all its 'sinners', and how it used to be better before… everything happened and the pesky youngsters ruined it. Apparently, we're part of the problem.”

A smirk grows on Victoria’s face. “I can live with that. All I heard was something about a revolution. And the clown talked about getting paid in the aftermath.”

Kate taps her chin, thinking over these two motives. She says to Victoria, “This whole thing is weird. Like, none of their goals are tangible or related. ‘Hey, let’s end the world’ but also ‘hey, let’s start a revolution’. Like it’s a big smokescreen.”

“Or, more likely, they’re fucking idiots roleplaying as supervillains.”

Kate teases, “Well, I’m technically roleplaying as a superhero.”

Victoria pats her on the back and tells her, “And there’s nothing wrong with that, bunny, because we’re not the ones being assholes.” The two stop walking as they face a glass door with a keycode keeping it locked. She asks, “What the hell is this?”

“A dead end. I’ll see what’s on the other side.” Kate turns translucent and hops through the door. Victoria waits for a few seconds before she hops back out, snickering maniacally. Finally able to contain herself, she lets out an exasperated, “Whoa.”

“‘Whoa’ what?”

“Whoa, it’s the Enforcers… Two.” Elmer steps out of an office, holding up two fingers, with Lord Laundry right behind him. He sighs and admits to his opponents, “Shit, this is sad.”

“And yet, it’s a fair enough match.” As the Enforcers put up their fists, Victoria looks at Kate, completely ignoring the villains in front of them, and asks, “So…?”

“Hawt Dawg Men. Lots of Hawt Dawg Men! Look out!” Kate pushes Victoria aside as a fistful of laundry comes flying her way. Victoria smiles and the two choose their dance partners.

Kate lunges at Lord Laundry, knocking him into the floor while she pounds on him with large fists of light.

Victoria grabs a ruler while Elmer cracks his knuckles and tells her, “So, uh, I just wanna say, nothing personal.”

She shrugs her shoulders and tells him rather confusedly, “Cool?”

Elmer rushes at Victoria and she retaliates by swinging the ruler at his face. It may be wobbly, but it is certainly metal, and hitting Elmer in the face with it causes him to fall to the side. He catches himself on a table and, while rubbing his cheek, starts throwing office objects at her. She dodges most of them and falls back behind a chair.

Kate continues punching at Lord Laundry’s body, tearing him apart cloth by cloth. In a hurry, he grabs at her mask and tries pulling it off her head. As he does so, he hears it crinkle, as if lined with tin foil. With both hands, he pulls off her mask and plops it over his chicken mask head.

Still, Kate doesn’t stop and keeps hitting him over and over, almost pulling him apart. But she feels the faint fear in his woolen heart, and so she backs off of him, leaving him to lay on the floor. She reaches for her mask, but it is too late as a pink parasite has taken root in her head. And that pink parasite’s name? Dolly.

Elmer grabs a gift-wrapped cardboard box and throws it at Victoria’s head as she peeks behind a table. It hits her and softly bounces, not containing anything at all. Still, it knocks her off-balance enough for him to rush her again and knock the beret off her head. He laughs in her face before grabbing it and rushing to a garbage bin. Standing over the bin, he vomits. A lot.

Victoria grabs her gun from her ankle and aims it at Elmer from a few feet away. “Give that back before I shoot!”

The spiky-haired criminal puts his hands up in the air and begs, “Don’t shoot! Don’t shoot!”

“Give me one reason not to.”

He turns to face her and explains, “There’s more to this shit than you can see.” Wiping his mouth with one of his leather jacket sleeves, he tells her, “Dolly’s insane!”

Victoria shrugs her shoulders and asks, “What else is new?”

“She’s got too much on her plate - she wants to lead a meta revolution, she wants to kill the rich, she wants to fuckin’ die! I don’t even know what her top priority is, or who she’s in control of with that body!”

Victoria lowers her gun just a little bit as she considers these revelations. “That’s not her body?”

“Of course it ain’t! Your girlfri-”

Victoria raises a hand before correcting him bluntly with, “Wife.”

Elmer shakes his head in surprise. “Wait, ‘wife’? I- You’re both a little bit too young, but congrats, dude.”

Already fed up with the small talk, she demands of him, “Just talk to me here.”

Elmer laughs and continues, “She’s in control of the Cyborg-Doctor, and some agents or something. And she’s nabbing people left and right. All the rich people or whatever.” Victoria lowers the gun and sighs. “We have to work together here.”

“I CAN DO THAT!” The two look at Kate as she blasts Elmer away with a beam of light.

Shocked at Kate’s brutality, Victoria yells in shock, “Kate!”

She doesn’t have any urge to hurt her wife, which is unfortunately a sentiment Dolly does not share as she pops in just a few feet away from Victoria’s face and grabs her by the throat with both hands. Dolly laughs through Kate’s vocal chords and asks with a deranged smile on her face, “Just like old times, hm?”

Victoria grimaces as she realizes that Kate isn’t in control of her own body. She wants to fight back and knock that little parasite out of her wife’s head, but she can’t. Not without hurting Kate, at least.

Kate places her palm on Victoria’s forehead and laughs maniacally. “Now, let’s get me back into your head.” And so she tries.

And nothing happens. She keeps on trying, and nothing is happening.

Kate scoffs and stares her in the eyes before releasing her and holding her in the air. With Victoria unable to move around, Kate pats her down and asks, “Where are you hiding the tin foil?”

It takes a second or two for her to fully process the question before she responds, “What?”

Kate tilts her head and looks around. “Uh. Hang on. Lemme just check something…” She looks for the two remaining Enforcers… who have up and vanished without a trace. Under her breath, Kate growls, “Cowards.” But her attention shouldn’t be on her treacherous teammates, it should be on Arcadia Bay’s old Queen Bee (for Bitch. Obviously.)

She looks at her as Victoria glares at her with all the rage in her heart. “What’s the matter? No witty retort to throw in my face, along with a punch? Here, let me try.” Spikes of light protrude from Kate’s knuckles and she laughs; not just at Victoria’s scared face, but also at Kate’s futile resistance within her brain. “This is gonna hurt… Bitch.”

Kate raises her fist and it flies at Victoria’s face. She braces for impact… but it fails to do so. Instead, it re-routes to Kate’s own face, knocking her back a few feet. As Kate recoils, she screams, “OWIE! The hell?”

Suddenly, Kate swipes herself off her own feet, causing her to fall on her butt. The spikes vanish as Kate starts writhing on the floor in an attempt to get Dolly out of her system.

Victoria cheers her on, yelling with a hopeful smirk, “Fight her, Katie!”

In her head, Dolly panics and screams once more, “No, not AGAIN!”

As she starts losing control of Kate, Victoria falls to the ground, heaving as she regains her composure. She pulls herself over to Kate and holds her close and tight, saying, “It's okay, Katie. I'm here with you. Fight it!”

* * *

In desperation, the Pink Moth flutters around in Kate’s mind, where light takes hold of all. In this land, this brainy place in all of its Victoria-loving, Christ-loving, all-loving glory, a white rabbit of light hovers around on angel wings, motivated by all the fluffy things in life that keep us at peace.

In the church of her mind, the White Rabbit spots the Pink Moth and casually swims over in the air around them.

The Rabbit smiles. The Moth grimaces and lets out a disgusted “Eugh.”

This little groan provokes the ire of the Bunny as she frowns. Sensing the Moth's misanthropic vibes, the little animal hops into action and bites straight into the moth menace, shaking and tearing into her with her two front teeth.

As the Moth is grinded down into psychological nothingness, she screeches, “NO! NO! NOOOOOOOO!”

And just like that, she is gone, leaving the Rabbit to hop along to her usual antics keeping Kate’s mind rolling.

* * *

Kate opens her eyes as they glisten and burn out any last remnant of Dolly’s mental ghost. Victoria runs her fingers through her glowing hair, calmly shushing her to keep her calm. It seems to have worked as Kate stops her glowing and looks at Victoria sadly. She tells her, “I’m so, so sorry ab-”

Victoria pulls her close and holds her gently. “It’s not your fault, it wasn’t you. It was Dolly. You’re okay. We’re okay.”

However, she has spoken too soon as she spots a dozen Agents standing in their way out of the hallway. One of them, aiming their rifle at the two girls, chuckles and tells them, “Freeze, metahumans.”

Victoria shields Kate from the Agents and tells them, “We’re not metahumans. I mean, I get it, she’s a superhero but, like, she’s like Batman. No powers. Just that raw human power.”

The Agents laugh as one armed with handcuffs steps forwards and adds, “Yeah. We hear ya. Take Miss Chase to her parents, and the bunny rabbit over to the Containment Cells for questioning.”

The goons grab Victoria and pull her away from Kate, also taking her into custody and restraining her with the handcuffs. “Leave her alone! Get off of her! She’s innocent!”

Leading her away, one of the Agents explains, “Maybe so, Victoria. But this is just how it goes.” Victoria’s eyes widen with worry as she figures out why the Agent is speaking like Dolly would. “Don’t try yelling for help. We’re not gonna hurt you. I mean, how else would I figure out your little trick?”

Victoria rolls her eyes at the villainess’s attempts at intimidation and groans loudly. “Just shut the fuck up.”


	13. Don't Call It A Comeback!

A black beanie falls to the ground in Arcadia Bay Cemetery, as does its fallen owner: the zombie Chloe. The living Chloe stands over her alternate self and kicks the corpse in disgust.

She and Max are the first line of defense for Arcadia Bay and much of the undead have already rushed past them on the way to town.

Standing beside disturbed graves, Bedlam bellows, “Charge, my soldiers! Lay waste to the future for all roads lead to death!” He raises his fist and laughs maniacally into the cold night air. “Everything is going accordingly!”

With two zombies in her grasp, Max crushes their rotting skulls in her fists and tosses them aside, just as William’s ghost erupts from a mausoleum with another zombie trapped in a chokehold. “Hey, I’m pretty sure this guy used to skate down our street.” Chloe jumps to her father’s aid and hits the zombie with a branch, knocking his head off.

The zombie’s ghost hovers over the corpse and jovially adds, “I did!”

William dusts off his ethereal hands and laughs. “Well, sorry, pal!” He glares at Bedlam, waving a fist in the air angrily at the villain. “I should’ve known you’d be an evil jerk!” He hovers over to Max and asks, dropping his upset demeanor, “What’s the plan, Super-Max?”

Swatting away three zombies with her staff, she says to him, “The plan is to fight off the zombies until Kate comes back, or until someone else shows up who can really beat Bedlam.”

Chloe tells her, with an arm around her shoulders, “I figured it’d be the two of us.”

Max shrugs and briefly explains, “Well, it will. Just not all the way.” She looks over to town as she sees zombies march forward. “We need to get back into town. Like, town town.” She pats Chloe on the back and, with a smirk on her face, leads the two Prices forward into battle. As she runs alongside the two past zombies ignorant of their presence, Max looks into the palm of her right hand and sees her blue butterfly tattoo.

* * *

SPRING BREAK 2014

Max looks into the palm of her right hand and feels that it is blank. What with her skin having become a literal pale canvas after her ascension to godhood, she wonders what is next. And yet the first thing she can think of is very apparent: Chloe Price. She holds Max’s right hand and smiles at her. Max looks up at her and laughs, happy as always to have her back.

Standing by the beach with the two lovers, Victoria tells them, “Me and Katie are gonna go grab some lunch at Wendy’s. Are you coming with?”

Max turns her attention to her friend and tells her, “Yeah, yeah, no worries.” But suddenly, another idea comes to mind as she looks at Chloe’s smiling face. “In fact… Chloe, we need to get tattoos!”

Chloe raises an eyebrow at this but she shrugs it off, not feeling many doubts. Still, she only asks one: “Will Bedlam get jealous?” She looks at her left arm and Bedlam puts his hands up. “That looks like a ‘no’. Let’s get them!” As Max pulls her along by the wrist, Chloe tells Victoria and Kate, “We’ll meet up with you guys in a bit!”

Victoria crosses her arms, naturally annoyed by Chloe considering past experiences. “Fine. Don’t be too long. Or trashy for that matter.”

Kate playfully slaps Victoria’s back and wags a finger at her, saying, “Hey, no. Bad Vic!”

The two walk back into town, hand in hand, with Victoria asking in an equally playful guilty tone, “‘Baaaad Viiiic’? C’mon.” She giggles happily with Kate.

Max pushes past through the door into the town’s local tattoo parlor, located on the piers, and says, “Hi! We’d like to get tattoos together.”

The older artist in charge of the place looks at Chloe like she’s seen a ghost. Shocked, she asks, “Wait, aren’t you dead?”

Chloe laughs heartily before explaining simply, “I’m back, and I’m here to stay.”

Max taps her chin and thinks, as if she were in a fast food dive or something, “We’d like… hm. What would we like?” She looks at Chloe, with her bright blue hair, as a butterfly flutters past her. A blue butterfly, to be specific. And suddenly, it hits her: “I have an idea.”

Two blue butterflies for Max and Chloe in the palm of their right and left hands respectively. Chloe gets her tattoo first and almost cries getting it, but Max is there to comfort her, holding her free hand with care. Chloe unfortunately cannot show the same restraint as she is getting a tattoo on the palm of her hand!

Max gets her tattoo and reacts surprisingly well, barely even flinching. Perhaps it is knowing the pain from the future as it happens to her in the past. Perhaps it is her weird pale white skin. But Chloe is feeling peeved, natural for her rather petty attitude towards life. She pokes her several times with her fingers, not enough to disrupt the process but enough to get a giggle or two out of Max. “Girl, how did both you and Rachel do this so easily?”

Max shrugs her shoulders and tells her, “Maybe our tattoos aren’t, uh, like Pokemon or something. No offense, Bedlam.”

With time and the filling in of the sketch, the tattoos are set and ready for the world to see them. It is also something that hurts like hell (which is, funnily enough, empty).

* * *

THE PRESENT

Reflecting on how little the tattoo’s impact has been on her life up until this point, Max thinks on its impact at this point in time: “ _ If Bedlam came from Chloe’s tattoo, what will come from this? _ ”

Another impact comes in the form of a “STOP” sign that Max blindly runs into. She falls to the ground and Chloe worriedly asks, “Max! Are you okay?” She slides to her girlfriend’s aid on the snowy streets of town.

A new voice speaks, oddly enough within their heads: “I think I can answer that first question.”

Chloe looks around and asks, “Who said that?”

Max sees her hand, where a blue glow is emanating from its palm. “Chloe, look at your tattoo.”

The glow grows stronger, but for all the worst reasons as a shadow overtakes the town. Looking up, Chloe asks. “Which one?”

Blotting out the moonlight, Bedlam’s face becomes the sky as he grows to the size of a mountain. As it was prophesied once and forever (in applicable timelines that is), death reclaims the skies of Arcadia Bay. Bedlam bellows:

“ **The bell tolls for Arcadia Bay! As it always has, and always will! I am its architect, its vessel! I AM THE ONE TRUE LORD OF DEATH! FEAR MEEEE!** ”

Chloe helps Max up to her feet and tells her, “Dude, you have to get up! We need to stop him!”

The voice tells them both, “And you can. Together as one.”

Chloe frowns and remarks, “I swear to god, if this is Dolly-”

Max holds her hand and tells her, “No, Chloe. It isn’t.” She points to a blue butterfly fluttering around them.

The Butterfly explains, “That’s right. Her real name is actually Samantha Derr-”

Max stops her and explains, “No, I mean you’re not Dolly.”

With a raised eyebrow, Chloe asks, “Sooooo the fuck is that?” She points at the Butterfly, with its strange inky blue skin.

“She’s something of a protector for the town.”

“In a manner of speaking, yes. My name is Fricepield.”

Chloe looks at Max and sighs, laughing in between her annoyed gasp. “Y’know what, maybe my parents were right about tattoos being bad life choices.”

Fricepield flutters onto Chloe’s eyebrow and tells her, “The time is not one for jokes, Chloe. Your love for Max, and hers for you, transcend universes. As does the storm to come. But like that storm, only you have the power to save everyone.”

Regrettably coming to the conclusion she came to when the storm hit her home Bay, she bluntly tell Fricepield, “Pass. I died once and that was enough of a pain.”

“Chloe.” Max holds Chloe’s tattooed hand in hers, and the two feel energy surging through their body. “You felt that, right? We need to hold hands and something will come of it. Something good, I hope.”

“Max, given our experience with Bed-lame, I’m not in the mood for having a SECOND tattoo monster screw us over!”

Max looks at Fricepield and says, “She won’t hurt us. I… can’t see what happens immediately after we merge here, but I can see afterwards. We save the day. We live good, long lives with our friends. And they’ll… survive. It’s like a tunnel. This is the only way we can beat Bedlam.”

“Yeah, yeah, trust and all. I trust you… I really do.” Chloe looks at Fricepield, and looks at Max. With a smile and some thoughtful consideration, she tells her, “Then, through the tunnel we go.” The two hold their tattooed palms together and she continues, “I’m so haunting you if this goes badly.”

Max giggles, “Likewise.” The two hold each other’s hands together as blue energy surges through their bodies. With this much power and the fate of the world on the line, the two lovers can’t help but to unify their energy with a kiss.

Seconds later, they are gone, taken elsewhere to prepare their assault on Bedlam.

With Max and Chloe are gone, the fighters on the ground and in the sky fire futilely on the giant Bedlam, much to his attention and anger. He inches towards them as they fire on him, and he sings:

“ **YOU’LL ALL DIE**

**AND WOOORDS WON’T MEAN ANYTHING**

**IT’LL PERMANENTLY BE NIGHT**

**AND IIII WON’T FEEL ANYTHING**

**I’LL ALWAYS BE LAUGHING AT YOU WHEN YOU-** ”

With a flap from the sky, blue wings descend upon Bedlam’s one-fisted figure and four clawed arms stab into his back. As he screams, the giant blue Price-Field-Fricepield Butterfly yells back in offended aggression:

“ **DON’T YOU DARE BASTARDIZED MGMT, YOU BASTARD!** ”

The giant Price-Field-Fricepield Butterfly fusion flaps backwards, pulling Bedlam away from their allies, much to their cheering.

“ **WHAT ARE YOU- AGH!** ”

Bedlam is knocked off of his feet and the Price-Field-Fricepield Butterfly flutters into the skies above. The tattoo tyrant falls back on his back with an enormous clatter, crushing many of his undead cronies in the process.

As Bedlan writhes on the floor, scratching away his minions from his back, the Price-Field-Fricepield Butterfly lands on Bedlam’s chest and screams into his face:

“ **YOU’RE GONNA DIE, MOTHERFUCKER!** ”

* * *

Being dragged lower and lower into the depths of the Agency Headquarters, approaching the General Holding Cells of the base, Kate begs to the dozen black-clad Agents, with her wrists cuffed together, “Please, you have to let me and my wife go! We’re the good guys!”

“We know, Kate.”

She asks the talking Agent, “You know my name?”

The Agent giggles and tells her as they approach several empty cells, “I know. You killed me with your lasers and trespassed onto the Missouri part of the Yuletide Evil Scheme - AS PLANNED, of course - so you’re going to a cell, just for time-out, and for time-in with our captive brothers and sisters.”

The Agents show Kate her cell - blocked off by a thick metal gate - and she yells at them all, knowing that Dolly is in control of them all, “You’re evil!” They open the cell and push Kate into the white room. As the gate closes on her, her handcuffs detach and fall to the floor.

Collectively, the dozen Agents shrug their shoulders and say in unison, “I’m just doing my job.” They start walking away and add, “And also committing an act of terrorism likely punishable by death or Gitmo, so let the good times roll!”

Kate bangs on the gate and tries shooting at the gate with fists of light, but they harmlessly bounce off due to albedo. “Me and Victoria will stop you, you maniac!”

“Of course you will. NOT! Toodles.”

Kate paces around in circles, thinking over her situation. She thinks of Victoria and whatever might be happening to her. Feeling overwhelmed by the anxious fear she has for her well-being, she sits against a wall and looks at the gate, thinking of a way to get out. One that is actually possible.

Another prisoner, her neighbor behind her, asks, “What’s happening, you?”

Kate sighs. “The place is under attack by supervillains.”

Another neighbor, one above her, declares angrily, “They’re giving us a bad name!”

“I suppose so.” Kate rises to her feet and tells the prisoners around her, “We need to stop them.”

Much of the prison populace laughs at the idea of a revolution by their hands. One asks, “‘We’? We’re not superheroes or something!”

Kate smirks to herself and tells the doubters, “Well, we can all be heroes. Just for one day. It’s Christmas after all!”

One prisoner deludedly proclaims, “Woohoo! Lucky number seven anniversaryyyyy!”

Someone else asks, “That short of a time here?”

“We’re all getting out.” Kate looks down at her hands and claps them together to produce light. She aims at the door and blasts at the gate holding her in captivity, denting it just a smudge. Seeing her attempt at freedom pay off, she continues blasting and blows a hole right through the barrier. She pulls herself out of the hole and dances a happy jig for a few seconds.

She isn’t out of the clear however. From the shadows above, Dr. Court climbs down on metal tendrils and tauntingly says to Kate, “No. You’re not.” Kate attempts to fly away, only for the Doctor to grapple onto her ankle and pull her back to the ground. “What did I juuuust say?”

Rolling her eyes in annoyance, Kate aims her palms at the Doctor and blasts her in the face with two beams of light, knocking her backwards.

She cautiously walks over to the Doctor and, expecting another attack, keeps her hands up in case she’ll have to use them. Thankfully for her, that is far from the case as she sits up and asks, disoriented as can be, “What happened?”

Sitting in a locker room, Colin holds his wife’s hand, hoping for their daughter’s safe return. Thankfully and conveniently, their prayers have been answered as Victoria walks in. She tells the Agents with their hands gripping her arms, “Get your hands off me.”

She shakes them off and one responds gleefully, “Fine. Big baby.” They wave her gun in the air and place the contraband on their belts before walking away.

Victoria’s parents run up to her and hold her in a strong bear hug. Colin asks, “Victoria, are you okay?”

She smiles and tells them, “I’m fine. Just got lost. Are you two fine too?”

Zara tells her, “Yes, of course. Without doubt.” The three break apart from their hug and take a seat on one of the benches. “Victoria, you wouldn’t happen to know why these supervillains are here, would you?”

She clicks her tongue and explains, “Having hung out with Max for a long enough time, she tells me things. These guys were involved with Teddy Iris, that drug dealer w- she stopped back in July. Bunch of terrorists, the lot of them.”

Thinking back on their actions then and now, Zara shivers. “Oh god, they’re so scary.”

Victoria holds her mother’s hand and tells her, “Not really. I actually met Dolly back when I first got with Katie. But she was… a lot nicer back then.”

Colin asks aloud, “Wonder what changed in her? Turning her into this evil being.”

Victoria shrugs her shoulders and tells him, “Who knows.”

Looking over her shoulder, Zara tells her family, “Maybe he does.”

Standing behind the Chases, the Jumper tells them, “I’ve been sent to-”

Shocked by the young man’s sudden appearance, Victoria jumps away and shrieks, “Agh, Christ, dude! Don’t sneak up on people like that!”

Colin snaps his fingers upon realizing, “Oh, this is that hero who saved you and Kate! Hi, we’re her parents.”

Victoria groans, rolling her eyes behind a facepalm. “Oh, brother.”

“I’m Colin and this is Zara.” He extends his hand to the Jumper, who shakes it awkwardly.

Zara smirks at the metahuman. “Wow, a real superhero in our midst.”

Placing his hips at his sides, the Jumper tells them, “Thank you, citizens. Just doing my duty with my God-gifted powers.”

“He’s not as cool as Max, if I may say. Plus, I don’t think God gives people superpowers, you just, like, get them.”

The Jumper crosses his arms at Victoria and asks smugly, “Eh, how would you know?”

Colin and Zara hold Victoria’s hands and tell him, “Our daughter is very smart.”

“So I’ve heard.” The Jumper takes hold of both elder Chases’ shoulders and tells them, “Now, let’s get you two somewhere safe.”

Victoria backs out of the hold and chuckles nervously. “Uhhh, let’s not.”

Zara asks, “What’s the matter, sweetie?”

“My gut is telling me that this wouldn’t be a good idea.”

Annoyed, the Jumper asks, “Did your gut stop several metahumans from disrupting the peace outside of this base back in 2012?”

Confused at this odd info dump, Victoria remarks, “Uh, literally not relevant.”

The Jumper steps closer to her and asks coldly, “Then, tell me, what would be more relevant? You and your parents making it to safety, or you and your parents being victim to a metahuman maniac?”

Victoria raises an eyebrow and steps up to the special Agent. “Which one would you provide? Personally speaking, that is. But then again, I know you’re not a very personal person. Y’know, ‘nothing personal’?”

Colin looks around and asks, “Victoria?”

Victoria leans closer into the Jumper, prompting him to take a step back. “Hanging out with Max for a long enough time, she’s obviously told me all about you, Dolly. I know you well enough to know you’re a liar. One who needs superpowers to make up your truth.”

“Sounds like the pot calling the kettle black.”

“At least I can live in my own skin.”

The Jumper huffs, looking into Victoria’s soul with a fiery rage. But he drops the matter and laughs heartily while loudly cracking his neck. He even sheds a tear before proclaiming, “OUCH, WOW, you’re kinda mean! Looks like you could use a time-out!” He reaches for Victoria but she steps back and pulls her parents away from the villain in disguise. The disgruntled Jumper cracks his knuckles and teleports behind the three.

The Jumper grabs Victoria’s parents by their shoulders and teleports away with them… but not Victoria. She feels their presence leave and sighs. They’d let her go so that she could be spared.

The Jumper returns and tells Victoria, “Now that I’ve got your family, you’re gonna tell me your secret.”

“If you’ve hurt them-”

Jumper shakes his hands and points at Victoria, saying, “No, no, it’s all about you. Not that I figured you’d care, considering how for the past few months, you’ve wanted to live your own life your way with Katie-Kat.”

Shocked at the notion of an uncaring attitude towards her parents, she asks, “What does that have to do with anything?”

“It’s ALL about YOU!” Rubbing his hands together, Jumper asks again, “Now, tell me: Why can’t I control you?”

Seeing Dolly’s frustration burst through the Jumper’s voice, Victoria teases, “Maybe you’re just not good enough?” She flashes a wide grin at him, just to anger Dolly even more.

Pointing at her, the Jumper exclaims, “I’ve got control of more people than you think!”

Victoria shakes her hands in faux fear and sneers at the villain. “Ooh, a bunch of grunts! Wow, I could’ve done that with some nice compliments and pot!”

“I take it that’s how you got Katie to like you?” The Jumper cackles, even though Victoria feels more confused by the accusation than enraged. “You’re so easy to mess with. Probably because you’ve got so much on you! Your years of bullying, your years of sucking up, your hours spent soaking in wet paint!”

“You were going somewhere, and then you lost it.”

“It doesn’t matter! None of it does.”

Victoria smirks, “You’re right on schedule.”

Looking over his shoulder, the Jumper asks, “What’s that supposed t-” Kate shoots a beam of light at the Jumper, knocking Dolly out of him and knocking him into the doors. She leads Dr. Court into the locker room and runs up to Victoria to hold her in a tight hug.

Victoria beams at Kate’s return and exclaims happily, “You’re alright!”

“Why wouldn’t I be?” The two kiss and smile at one another.

Looking at the Doctor with a confused glare, Victoria asks, “So is she on our team or something?”

Kate nods her head and tells her, “Yep. And so might the porcupine guy and the clothing guy.” She steps out of Victoria’s grip and says, “Now, we need one more group and then we’ll have a certified army to take down Dolly!”

Victoria points to the unconscious Jumper “Well, we’ve got this guy too, mayb-”

A pink origami moth falls out of his grip and floats onto Victoria’s shoulder. She unfolds it and reads it:

_ If you want to see your family alive, you’ll want to come on down to the _ <strike> _ Victoria do not listen to her she wants to use _ </strike> _ Come to the surveillance center in the unguarded Northwest Comms Tower alone. Don’t bring anyone else, you're very importa<strike>S</strike> _ _ <strike>he’s right about that but please don’t come</strike> Victoria  _ _ it’s aGAY OLD TIME, COME OR I START TURNING PEOPLE INTO EMUS _

_ Sincerely, Dolly and co. <3 <3 <3 _

Victoria puts the paper away and has only one thing to say: “What the fuck?”


	14. Okay, You Two, Open Wide! AAAAAAAA

The Jumper dumps the Chases in the Surveillance Center of the Agency HQ before disappearing in a snap. In confusion, the two look around and spot Dolly, sitting in a rolling chair with a Santa hat on her head and a banana smoothie in her hands.

Suddenly: “Shit!” The villain jumps to her feet and pulls a pink origami moth from one of her pockets with her free hands. She walks over to a table and writes on it. Gently with some strokes and panicked with others. Without looking at them, Dolly tells the Chases, “Your goddamn daughter is good at this! Her and her new buddies!” She stops writing and tosses the moth into an air duct. “What is it, tell me?”

Zara looks at her husband and asks the villain, “Tell you what?”

“How does she do it? Block my power? I mean, I know she’s a meta but I don’t-”

Both of Victoria’s parents exclaim, in unison and in certain shock, “Our daughter is a metahuman?!”

Dolly slurps up some smoothie and says, “Yeah. She’s got, like, Spidey-Sense or something. Maybe that’s it, her thoughts are too fast for me.”

The Chases also spot Sean Prescott lying on the floor, trapped in a fetal position. Dolly adds, “Oh, yep, I got Sean Prescott here too.”

Zara asks, “Where’s Montrose?”

“Who?”

“Montrose. The party server. Our old… butler. Victoria was asking about him and we figured you might know a thing or two.”

Dolly chuckles to herself, astounded. “Wow. She had a butler? Just one? Was he like a cool butler? Did he know ‘Kar-A-Tay’?”

“Yes, actually. We had him until Prescott bought him away. Punishment for us ‘giving his son drinks’.”

“It was deserved!”

The Chases groan together with Colin angrily muttering, “Christ, he’s awake.”

“You hurt my son with that! Don’t either of you DARE talk like that to me.”

Dolly rolls her eyes and tells him, “Yeah, I’m pretty sure your son hurt your son, Mister Pee.” Crossing her arms, she asks, “I take it you;ve just now heard about Vicky’s amazing gifts.”

“She’s a filthy metahuman, yeah, I know.”

Zara gasps and exclaims, “She’s our daughter, you asshole.”

Sean sits up and growls angrily, “You dare call me an ass-”

Fake-Nathan, still inside Sean’s not-as-complex-as-he-believes mind, tells him, “Yes, she does, DAD!”

Speaking to the ghost in his head, he asks, betrayed, “Now you betray me too?” He scoffs. “I figured you would, Nathan. Always defending her like the lost puppy you were.”

Both of the Chases look at each other, confused, and tell Prescott with some worry, “Nathan? He’s not-”

Dolly jumps in and yells, “He’s not fuckin’ around, man!” She makes a gun gesture with her hand and panickedly yells, “Oh my- oh my shit, he’s got his gun!” Sean puts his hands up and falls on his butt, hiding against the wall from the mental menace. She tells the Chases with a laugh, “I’m fucking with him. Mentally.”

Zara shrugs her shoulders and tells the villain, “I can live with that. Now, what do you want from us again?”

“Tell me of any of your daughter’s neat anti-mental trickery.”

Seeing no way out of the situation. Colin spills the beans: “We know she had tin foil in her hat, for whatever reason.”

“Hm. Yes. That’d make sense. Thought it was just some weird non-sequitur.” She taps her forehead, telling that she used her powers to verify the truth. “Do you think it would last after it was taken off?” They both shrug, obviously not knowing much. Dolly strokes her chin and thinks aloud to herself: “Then there must be a deeper reason behind it. Self-sabotage? Hm. Naaaah. Alcohol consumption. Too young and too many eyes. Really, I got nothing. You?”

Colin tells her, with his chest unconsciously puffed up, “We don’t know, and we wouldn’t help you hurt our daughter either way. We’ve done enough of that.”

Dolly rubs her forehead and says blankly, “Okay, so you’re not lying. But, I mean, really? After everything she’s done-”

“That we caused, whether we’d like to admit it or not. We both know she’s angry at us, and we know she kinda lied about how she knew you, if the way you’re acting is any indication. But that doesn’t matter. We won’t hurt her anymore.” Zara holds her husband’s hand and plops a kiss on his cheek, proud of his heroic stand against Dolly.

“Man, you guys are good parents. Vicky thought the same thing! Even when she was super-duper pissed at you for thinking you were lying to her about the invitation here! Yeah, I was listening with the ol’ Metahuman Jumping Bean. Well, you’re both certainly better than my parents.” Dolly sighs and steps closer to them. “I’m sorry I’ll have to do this.”

“Do what?”

Dolly jumps up in front of them and holds their foreheads. She worms her way into their minds. Zips down their timelines straight for their pasts. Any that she can truly see and explore anyways…

* * *

1987

THE ARRANGEMENT

It started in April. Two immigrants from Berlin with dreams of art. Dreams that were held down back home.

It was there, in Arcadia Bay, on one warm Oregon evening, when they cleaned up for Sean Prescott one last time. It was at an afterparty for the Blackwell Academy Bigfoots’ big game beating the Beaver Creek Collegiate Beavers. 

Grinning at the two lovers behind the scenes of the shindig, he tells them, “So I’ve seen your portfolios. I’m impressed!”

Zara dusts herself off and says, “Thank you, sir.” Colin helps her by plucking dust bunnies out of her hair, much to her delight.

Sean laughs and adds, “Seriously, Zee, what’d I tell you, both of you? It’s Sean. Anyways, this? Good. Shit.” He pulls out a red binder and flicks through it.

Colin asks, arms crossed in uncertainty, “So is that all you wanted to tell us?” Sean smirks at the two, but that smirk only grows into an impressed grin.

* * *

Holding her boyfriend’s hands, she tells their fellow Berlinian roommate [DOLLY] “We made an arrangement with him!”

[DOLLY] strokes her chin and inquires, “Hm. Interesting. What are the exact details?”

Colin explains, “He wants a cut of the check, but we’re getting a majority profit! Exposure! Money, mostly! I think that’s how it works.”

Zara laughs and nuzzles his shoulder. “Certainly beats the way things were back home.”

[DOLLY] laughs and jokes, “Ah, don’t get too rich for my blood, you two! Here’s to the future!”

* * *

1992

THE ADVENTURE

_ FLASH _ . A fresh, crisp shot of the bright orange sun setting over Cluny, France, tinting the town tangerine. In the Summer of 1992, the two Chases took a vacation overseas where their good friend [DOLLY] had moved to pursue her dream career and see the artistry of the land.

Zara sets down the camera, planting the photograph in one of her overalls’ pockets and tells her loving husband, “Now that’s a keeper.” She sits with him on a bench and shoots a smile his way. “Look at this, Colie. A view of the French world.”

Colin nods stoically as [DOLLY] walks out from his small house by the streets. “It’s nice. Having spent the last… decade? The last decade here, you learn a lot!”

The two walk up to [HER] and pat [HER] on the back. “We appreciate you hosting us. Really, [DOLLY], it’s been amazing.”

Joyfully, [DOLLY] tells them in a funny faux-French accent, “My pleasure! Oui oui!”

Snapping his fingers, Zara adds, “That’s been a help too. French was not my strong suit back home. Nor were a lot of things, for that matter!”

Colin laughs before kissing her on the cheek. “Yeah! Me neither!”

[DOLLY] leads the two into [HER] apartment and says, “That makes three of us!”

* * *

1995

THE ART GALLERY

Zara cautiously closes the door to the Chase Space’s entrance, keeping the night out. “Aaaand that’s it for the day!” Just a few months prior, they had earned enough money and enough clout to begin their business in the hip photography scene of Seattle. Just in time for Christmas, no less!

Colin places several photographs into a red binder and tells her, “It’s a lot. But I’m not complaining!” As he helps her around - what with her being five months pregnant - he looks at [DOLLY] and compliments her by saying, “Ooh, thanks for cleaning up, friend!”

Sweeping away some dust with a broom, [DOLLY] says gleefully, “No problem! It’s the least I can do. Y’know, without a paycheck.”

Colin laughs. “We’re not that rich!” He rubs Zara’s big belly and adds, “Besides, we’ve got the kid coming along.”

Rubbing [HER] hands together, [DOLLY] asks the two, “Thought of a name yet? Because I’ve got some good ideas.”

The two look at each other with smiles abound. They’ve already settled on a name, one that they will always choose, as fate would have it…

* * *

A few weeks later, after being rushed to the hospital upon the breaking of her water, a new life was brought into this world. One baby who would surely bring about a bright day for the Chase family lineage.

Cradling the newborn, Zara looks into her wailing daughter’s small green eyes and smiles oh so happily and weakly: “Hello to the world, Victoria Maribeth Chase.”

Sean looks at her and remarks, “She’s so small.” Looking around, he asks, “Are all babies like this?”

Astounded at his obliviousness, Jessica - one of the Chases’ business partners - tells him boredly, “Obviously. You have a daughter, you know.”

Sean shrugs his shoulders and nervously tells her, “Well, yeah.”

Rolling her eyes, Jessica shows the young girl off to another one of the Chases’ associates. “Look at her, Brad!”

Brad pats the baby on the head and says to the lucky new parents, “I can see her of course. Congratulations, you two!”

Colin holds his wife’s hand and tells him, “Thanks. Isn’t she lovely?”

“Yeah. Well, besides the crying, but that’s the way babies are.”

From across the room, [DOLLY] begs, “Let me hold her! Pleeeeease?” Brad hands the baby over to [HER] and [DOLLY] cradles her gently. “Hi, Victoria. Wow. You were an ugly baby.”

* * *

2001

THE ABSTRACTION

As [SHE] rakes the leaves around the backyard of Sean Prescott’s lofty Arcadia Bay mansion, [DOLLY] asks the Chase and Prescott parents, “Hey, where are the kids?”

In the midst of a martini, Sean tells [HER] frankly, “Dunno, [DOLLY]. They’re probably just playing around. Let them be.”

But someone else is on the hunt for the two kids: Kristine Prescott. She runs up to the adults and says worriedly, “Mom, Dad! I can’t find Nathan anywhere!”

Sean scoffs rather playfully, telling his daughter, “Oh, he’s just playing around with Victoria, I bet. No, seriously, I wager that much.”

[DOLLY] jumps in and says with a pep in [HER] step, “Let us go find them, young Kristine.”

The two venture into the thick bushes, sprinkled in orange fallen leaves, guarding the Prescott Estate from the dirty outside world.

In a small clearing, the two children are spotted with a little white rabbit in their hands. [DOLLY] texts the Chases on [HER] flip phone while Kristine whispers to [HER], “There!” They await the arrival of the parents by observing sneakily.

Victoria cautiously and carefully strokes the forehead of the rabbit while proclaiming, “He’s so adorable!” She’s completely captivated by the strange thing’s existence and its fuzzy form. She even offers it a carrot from one of her dress pockets and it nibbles on it with infantile bites.

Nathan looks at the little critter with a bit of a darker curiosity, asking Victoria, “You think they ever get hurted? How do they feel it? Do they cry?”

In a panic, Victoria pulls the rabbit out of Nathan’s grasp and cradles it gently. She glares at the young Prescott boy and tells him off with, “No, Nathan! No one will ever hurt the little babies! I will stop them from being hurted!”

The solace is disrupted by [DOLLY] bursting through the bushes with the adult Chases and Prescott at [HER] sides. [SHE] calls out to them both, “Victoria! Nathan! Thank heavens you two are alright!”

Zara looks at the two kids and asks, “What are they doing in the-” She sees the bunny. Her heart dropping in fear of the icky little ticks that could be rummaging through the animal’s fur, she shoos away the critter and hugs her daughter tightly. “Stay away from that thing, Victoria! It may have ticks on it!”

Victoria reaches out to the rabbit but her baby arms cannot grab it as it disappears into the woods. “Nooo, it’s just a baby rabbit.”

Zara sighs, adding, “A disgusting thing, it is!” She combs her fingers through her daughter’s hair and asks, “Oh, are you alright?”

Sean looks his son in the eyes and tells him firmly, “Nathan, seriously, you shouldn’t be like that. Here in the bushes. That’s it, we’re going home!”

The Prescotts walk away into their house, leaving the Chases and [DOLLY] behind. [SHE] picks up their daughter, who whines, “Aww, but I wanted to play with him and Kristina and the rabbits-”

“We need to get you washed off. And you need to be careful out here!” From here, Victoria learned that she couldn’t be like this - a careless child in a seemingly dangerous domain.

* * *

2009

THE ALCOHOLISM

Things only took a turn for the worse as the two younguns were spotted drinking alcohol by the Mount Rushmore National Monument for Spring Break. As much as they had learned from their parents, they had also learned from the world around them - movie, television, the news. It taught them to be tough. It taught them to party. Angered at this betrayal of his parental ways, Sean yelled at Nathan, “SON! What is this you have been drinking?!”

With the elder Prescott holding a bubbly drink in a water bottle in front of his young face, Nathan crudely blurts, “It’s just water… Don’t get so upset!”

Infuriated at the lies tossed his way, Sean tosses away the water bottle and slams his fist into a wall. “I’m no idiot, my boy! You and the girl were getting drunk! It’s… her fault! Her! And now, it is time to make things right! Consequences must be known!” He grabs his phone from his jacket and dials intensely, getting the immediate answer he was hoping for. “Good evening, Colin. You’re done with your daughter? Good. Because you’re also done with [DOLLY]. That’s right, [HER] ass is mine now!”

* * *

THE PRESENT

Prescott gains clarity once more, free from Dolly’s control. He looks around and spots Dolly holding the shoulders of the Chases. He thinks to himself, “ _ Gone? The fuckers are gone. _ ” He grins from ear to ear, thinking and thinking thoughts all his own. “ _ Good thinking, Doc. _ ”

He hops to his feet and lunges at Dolly. Hearing the stomping of his feet, she looks back and asks, “What are you- YOU!”

The elder Prescott slams himself into Dolly’s body, causing the two Chases to lose their footing and collapse like ragdolls. Grabbing her white mask, Sean growls in her face, "I'm sick and tired of you, kid!"

Dolly delivers a swift kick between his legs and knocks him back with a blast of psionic energy. Adjusting her mask, she spits back, “You hired me, remember?! This is me returning the favor! This and the end goal!” With Sean dazed, Dolly plants her fingers to her forehead to hone in on his mind. But she can’t. “Why can't I get into your head?!”

Sean pulls himself up to his feet and tells her bluntly, “Training! The deterrent!”

“Fine, I'll just use your fat, sweaty body!” Sean’s mind may be off-limits, but the body is a whole other deal. One Dolly can control with the fluttering of her fingers. Prescott bursts into a disco dance while the villainess exclaims with a sinister grin on her mask, “DANCE!” However, somehow fighting through the control, Prescott lunges at her and wraps his hands around her neck. “Hey, get away from me!”

Glaring into her soul, he tells her coldly, “I’m afraid I can’t do that. After all… I hired you.”

With an enraged burst of psionic energy, Prescott is swatted away with Dolly’s arm. A  _ SNAP _ crackling from his neck. He flies limply onto a table before collapsing to the floor.

Dusting herself off, she realizes what she has done.

Or rather, what her partner-in-mind has done.

Shocked and rather appalled, she gasps and yells, “Christ!” Stepping forward to look at Sean Prescott’s limp body, she asks shakily, “Wha- what did you do?!”

Shaking her head a bit, the body she’s in control of tells her, with a prim and proper French tone to his voice, “I did what you wanted to do, and what I’ve been wanting to do.”

Dolly jumps back into the body’s driver seat and snaps her fingers happily. “Good! Good riddance! Hah! Long time coming!” Tapping her chin, she asks herself, “Where was I? Oh, that’s right. Let me just…” She grabs the shoulders of the two Chases and continues on her mental journey.

* * *

2010

THE AVEDON-ESQUE

Along with her dreams of becoming an amazing photographer, like her parents before her, Victoria dreamed of becoming an actress. She would tell this to her parents quite a lot both before she got to Blackwell and for the first few months she spent there.

But one day, for whatever reason, her mission shifted. Straight onto photography.

Worried about her sudden shift, Colin asks her, “What about your acting, sweetie? That would be great too.”

Victoria looks away from both him and Zara, afraid of telling them the truth. Not that it was all that well-hidden, everyone at Blackwell heard about her on-set “drug nap” just minutes before “The Tempest” was set to start. She hurriedly tells him with a false smile, “I figured it wasn’t for me. Performing for all those people, it makes me nervous. Just a bit. Besides, you two got into photography and you can teach me a lot.”

Zara looks at her husband and tells Victoria happily, “Well… You did show a lot of interest in that. Plus, we can teach you well about it. And just in time for that Mark Jefferson’s class!”

* * *

The night was warm as all summer Seattle nights tend to be. Down in Denny Park, Victoria learned from her parents just how to snap a Chase-Space-worthy photograph.

Zara guides her thoroughly: “First of all, you have to capture your subject.”

The subject in question is a squirrel, standing atop a gate. It stands before the Space Needle, and the giant moon behind it illuminates the world.

“Like that. See?” Zara continues, “Focus. Steady. Make sure to get the clearest image in your sight. Everything should be perfect.”

_ SNAP _ . “Now, let’s see how it came out.” Victoria grabs it and prepares to shake it until her parents stop her. “No shaking the photo, sweetie. It ruins the image.” The three look at it and smile upon their daughter’s work. “Great job, Victoria! That’s perfect!”

With a tight happy grin on her face, Victoria beams, “Aww, thanks!” Looking at the photo as it develops in her hands, she adds, “Y’know, maybe Blackwell isn’t so bad after all!”

* * *

2013

THE ASCERTAINMENT

“I knew sending you to Blackwell unsupervised was a bad idea!” Uh oh. They’re pissed now.

Following the death of a certain blue-haired punk girl (who may have muscled Victoria out of her theatrical dreams), Arcadia Bay is in upheaval. Fingers are being pointed at the suspects behind the town’s ruin - the Prescott family and their many friends. Revolution is on everyone’s mind and it is scary.

With revolution also comes the truth as the two Chases would find out about their party-loving, heavy-drinking, creepy-teacher-hitting-on-ing, mean-talking, poor-tip-giving daughter. Having brought her to a motel near the edge of town, the Chases resume their duty of being parents to her.

Crying with her arms crossed in some last ditch effort to look tough to anyone at all, Victoria explains, “Look, I know what I did was bad and all, and I’m sorry.”

Colin sighs and tells her, “We know, but… Jesus. We didn’t raise you to be like that!”

A giggle leaves Victoria’s throat. The giggle turns into a laugh, which turns into a cackle. A sad cackle, full of spite that she just doesn’t want anymore. “I hate to be a bitch… but of course you did. You two and the Prescotts are the same. And look where it got Nathan! And Kristine! I don’t want to end up like them. And it’s a good thing I didn’t, but… Look at me. I’m a mess. I’m a bad person. I was so close to being like him. And I want to make things right.”

Humming angrily and quietly under his breath, Colin tells her simply, “You will. When you show us you can. Without us.” Zara holds her husband’s hand, trusting in both his statement and their daughter’s. “We messed up - a lot - but we never wanted you to be like this. So you’ll have to be a grown-up now. Without us.”

Victoria smirks at both of her parents and softly tells them, “Okay. I know where to start anyways. I’ve been talking to Katie - you wouldn’t know her since you weren’t at our graduation - and I want to make things right by her. Really right.” She walks to the door leading out into the world. “I’ll go do that.”

As she walks out into the world, Zara calls out to her and tells her heartfully, “Take care, sweetie! Please! We still love you.”

Looking at her mom sweetly, Victoria says, “Yeah. I know.”

And just like that, she is gone. Likely to a cab so that she can go back to the Bay and look for a place to crash. But back inside the motel room, Zara hugs her husband and asks, knowing of the pain they’ve brought to Victoria through their ignorance and absence, “Why are we like this?”

Colin strokes his wife’s hair and tells her, “We’re only human, Zee. And so is our daughter. But you trust her too, right? She’ll make things right.”

“God, I only hope so.”

* * *

2014

THE (RE)ATTACHMENT

Victoria smiles as she holds hands with this Katie character in the Two Whales Diner that the two Chases have heard a bit about. “If you had told me I’d be with Victoria like THIS, I’d think you’d be crazy. But she’s changed.”

Following the revival of a certain blue-haired punk girl (who wasn’t really revived per se, more that her parallel self came to town), good just seemed to be on the rise. There were reports across the globe of strange anomalies just popping up, and one such anomaly - a cult leader from a parallel world obsessed with Mother Nature’s destructive streak - happened to pop up in Arcadia Bay. This particular anomaly was also stopped by the combined efforts of… a lot of people, and among those people were Victoria and her new  <strike> arm candy </strike> girlfriend, Kate Marsh. The illusive ‘Katie’.

Victoria wraps an arm around Kate’s shoulder while eating a cheeseburger with her free hand and tells her, “I owe it to you, Katie. You saved me.” As Kate leans on Victoria’s chest, the two smile, happy to be with one another in this soothing moment of peace.

Colin humbly grins and tells his daughter, “We’re proud of you, Victoria. You saved the town!”

Victoria shrugs her shoulders rather dismissively of her accomplishment: “I mean, I did. But… I’m not big on the title. ‘Hero of Arcadia Bay’, I’m no hero.”

Sitting next to the Chases, Richard Marsh reassures her, with his wife by his side, “Well, you’re certainly no villain.”

“Coming from you, Rich, that means a lot.” Victoria’s smile sours a bit, not enough to vanish, as she says, “I mean, about being this ‘Hero’-with-a-capital-‘H’, I’m not feeling it. I mean, literally, there’s that Superwolf kid in Mexico wiping up drug dealers - not the best targets if you ask me, but that’s neither here nor- anyways, he’s a ‘Hero’. With a capital ‘H’. I’m just me. But, like, nicer me than usual. That’s not something amazing. It’s just Step One or something.” She lets out a chuckle, adding, “To think, meaner me would be relishing in being ‘Hero’-with-a-capital-‘H’.”

Zara leans in from her side of the table and tells her, “You’ve shown us you can change, Victoria. For the better! I had faith that you could, and of course, you proved me and your father right. And because of it, you’ve got a girlfriend who loves you, certainly, and who you love, certainly. That’s one hell of a step- no, leap forward if I’ve ever seen one.” Looking at the Marshes, she modestly adds, “Uh, no offense about the ‘H-E-L-L’ word.”

Sandra laughs and tells her, “None taken.”

Stroking Kate’s cheek with her clean hand, Victoria tells her mother, “Thank you, mom.”

Suddenly, another topic crosses Zara’s mind. One that  _ seriously _ needs discussion now more than ever. “Now, about that Rachel Amber that’s just come back, what would she say is her favorite brand of tea? Just out of curiosity…” Victoria rolls her eyes and laughs a bit, happy to see her mom letting loose and cracking a joke or two.

* * *

Dolly reawakens and hops to her feet, adding joyously, “Victoria really grew up right before our eyes.” She cackles to herself before saying, “I know you now, Victoria Maribeth Chase... neat name... And soon, we will face off again. I just hope it’s soon, could be later, I mean... what time is it right now?”

Looking around for a clock, she checks the time. And boy, has she spent a good while going over all this mental malarkey as she exclaims, “Holy shit, it’s been thirty minutes?! What the hell?!”


	15. Who'll Let The Dawgs Out?

Among the stars in the darkness of the Christmas eve’s sky, Bedlam looks down on his subjects with hatred for life in his heart. From the bottom of his ink-pumping heart, he bellows:

“**I WILL KILL AAAAALL OF YOU!**”

Being too busy overacting, the tattooed tyrant fails to see a whale aimed right for his face. It crashes into him, knocking him a few steps off-balance.

Among the stars, the bright blue Price-Field-Fricepield butterfly swoops over Bedlam and yells back with a hearty tone:

“**NO, YOU WOOOON’T!**”

And yet, beneath this combat of the gods, the fighters on the ground watch. Finn tells his friends amusedly, “Did you ever think you’d get the chance to see this?”

Stepping over zombie corpses, Hannah adds bluntly, “Jacob’s missing out on so much shit. If ‘future music’ blew his mind, then…” She chuckles to herself.

Finn adds, while shooting at several approaching zombies, “At least him, Sean and the rest of his family are safe down in Mexico.”

Suddenly, a helicopter descends slowly over the two young drifters and their busier allies. Out steps several men in black, here to escort the Robo-President into town. Mechanically, he waves his hand and adds, “Indeed. Beep bop boop, blorp bleep.”

“Robo-Prez! What are you doing here?”

“I have come on behalf of the United States Government to assist you all on your mission to defeat this Bedlam menace.”

“Oh, we’re not in charge. We’re just the guys with the guns.”

“Any of you got ammo?”

“Sure! Here ya go, Flower-Lady.” “Now, we’re the guys without guns.”

Taking time out of their battle, the Price-Field-Fricepield butterfly flutters down to earth and gleefully says:

“**ROBO-PRESIDENT! IT IS AN HONOR TO MEET YOOOOOU!**”

“As it should beep.” Looking around, the Robo-President sees the soldiers of the living gather around him. “As of this time - December 24th, 2014 at 7:35 PM Pacific Standard Time - evacuations are being staged in Beaver Creek and Culmination as blackened roots of ink have emerged through the ground. Bop boop beep.”

The crowd murmurs amongst each other, discussing plans. Corralling the crowd, the Price-Field-Fricepield Butterfly makes their proposal:

“**WE MUST ATTACK THESE ROOTS! TO CRIPPLE BEDLAM!**”

“Yes. Boop.” Looking around as the zombies are still approaching, their forces shrunken in number by the good work of the soldiers of the living, the Robo-President adds, “Attack.”

And so, they do.

* * *

Glaring at the forcefield generator as it lies out in the open, Elmer asks his clothing compatriot, “What do you think will happen if we hit it?” Lord Laundry shrugs his leather shoulders (courtesy of Elmer’s jacket) and Elmer adds, “Yeah, you’re right. It’d probably be a mess.”

The two look up from the device to see Victoria, Kate, Doctor Court and the Jumper standing before them. With a sneer, Victoria waves to them tauntingly, “Hey, boys.”

“You gonna shoot me now?”

Looking away, Victoria tells Elmer, “Nah. Dolly took my gun. Plus we’re all on the same team. We know about Dolly.”

“Maybe you can get a gun from that guy.” Elmer points to the hooded Merchant as he stands inside a ramshackle gun shop based outside of the Main Building the four left from a few minutes prior.

The Merchant jovially waves to the group: “Welcome, stranger!”

Victoria raises an eyebrow at this strange man and adds, “I think I’m good.” The Merchant shrugs his shoulders, and Victoria jumps back to conversing with Elmer. “So what’s the plan here?”

The Doctor steps forward and says, unsurely, “We can try shutting it down.” She gives the crew a lengthy technobabble rundown: Something about tachyon particles, light-based energy, and how the forcefield has the density of the Great Wall of China. “Dismantling it could take some time.”

Elmer puts his best foot forward and adds, “Let’s just break this thing apart, or step on it, crush it.”

“No. If we do that or tamper with it without the proper resources, tools, insight, the forcefield could collapse in on itself and crush everything inside of it. Us included, obviously.”

Elmer states, “Well, there’s also that army of SWAT guys outside.”

Looking around, Victoria asks, “Can we try talking to them? Ask for help, perhaps?”

“They’re really far away. Plus, uh, Dolly kinda already talked to them.”

Victoria shrugs her shoulders. “Okay. So?”

“As you.”

Her eyes dart and she says, a bit unnerved, “Oooookay.”

“And boy, did she say some shit.”

Victoria plants her hands on her hips and asks, “Liiiiike?”

An embarrassed chuckle escapes Elmer’s throat as he scratches at the back of his neck and tells her, “Ehhhh, I’d REALLY rather not say.”

Victoria sighs and rubs her eyes in shame. “Oh god.” Confused at the idea, she asks, “Why?”

The Jumper jumps in and posits, “Your wife did kill her, it’s likely revenge.”

The Doctor adds, “Also, uh, speaking of Dolly’s motivations, might I add one more thing?”

Crossing her arms at Dolly’s absolute malalignment of her, Victoria bluntly asks, “Sure, what is it?”

“Dolly has her mental powers: the ability to read minds, control bodies, send mental projections. She can do all that. But we have another problem. You see, her powers, from when we first picked her up from Arizona, have been damaging her brain and psyche on a cellular level. As a result, her actions have been becoming more unhinged and incomprehensible, comparable to Alzheimers Disease or something of the like.”

Victoria groans, not out of anger but out of sympathy, “Jesus.”

“She’s been changing, getting worse ever since they would’ve first manifested, and ever since we picked her up. Surely, you remember her back in March.”

Looking at Kate, Victoria says, “How could I forget?”

Kate hops in and asks, “Well, we can save her, right? Maybe not from her brain, but we don’t have to kill her.”

Victoria adds, “That’s true. Besides, she might know where Montrose is.”

Knowing where (or rather, who) he currently is, Elmer chimes in, “About that…”

The thumping of combat boots heading towards their location prompts Victoria to yell, “Get inside!” The six dash back into the Main Building, only barely catching glimpses of their adversary: a royally pissed Tangi leading several dozen Agents behind him.

Once inside, Victoria shuts the door behind them all and lets out a deep sigh. “Everyone’s alright?” That they are.

Over a megaphone, Tangi screams, “Dolly’s told me all about you traitors! Time to get what you deserve!”

Enraged, Victoria yells back, “Get out of his head, Dolly! It’s me you want, isn’t it?” She asks herself in a whisper, “Dunno why…”

A sinister giggle escapes Tangi’s mouth as he responds, “Oh, she’s not in my head.” The giggle grows into maniacal laughter and he instructs the controlled Agents, “Keep them in there, wouldn’t want any uninvited guests to tonight’s show- Oh, why am I telling you this already? Y’already know! HAH AHAHAHAHA!”

Her hands balled up into fists, Victoria grumbles, “I hate that fucking clown.”

Elmer shrugs and tells her, “At least you’ve never heard his stand-up.”

The Doctor asks, “Now what?”

From outside, just barely, the group hears the Merchant. He says to them, “Oy, stranger! Got somethin’ that might interest ya!” He talks from a small open grate, unphased by any of the danger surrounding him.

Victoria kneels down to the grate and asks, “Who are you?”

“I’m the Merchant lookin’ to sell!”

“Are you with Dolly?”

Sitting on the grass outside, the Merchant tells her, “No. I’m just here to sell. Are you here to buy?”

“Buy what?”

“Guns, ammo, medical herbs, first aid. All on sale, stranger!”

Victoria raises an eyebrow and chuckles to herself. “You’re all stocked up, aren’t you?”

“That’s the job. So, stranger, what are ya buyin’?”

“Uh… A rifle?”

“Non-lethal!” Victoria looks at Kate, who continues, “We can’t kill the people out there. They’re victims too.”

She nods her head and adds, “Good point. A non-lethal rifle please?”

“That’ll be ten dollars!”

The Doctor jolts at the sound of that deal and exclaims in shock, “Ten dollars for an assault rifle?! Can I get your number, sir?”

Teasingly, the Merchant tells her, “You won’t find me, stranger, I’ll find you!” He slides the gun over to Victoria and asks, “Is that all?”

“Got anything non-lethal and explodey?”

Sliding a grenade launcher through the grate, the Merchant explains, “You’re gonna need guts for this, stranger. Guts, and a good sense of distance if you don’t want a splitting headache!” Victoria picks it up and looks at it, intrigued. “I sell ammo for it, twenty five bucks for ten rounds!”

“You can sell for more!”

“I sell to the worthy buyer, for the worthy buyer, stranger. That, and I have to convert the funds from dollars to pesetas.” Victoria gives the Merchant his owed money and he happily beams, “Hehehe, thank you! Come back anytime.”

Victoria smirks and asks Kate, “What a guy, huh? Now, step two. We need numbers. We’re not gonna cut it against those guys outside. We need people who can really fuck shit up!”

Silence befalls the group as they have no people readily available for assistance. But the Doctor knows that there are people who can help, even if they hate her. After all, they have a common enemy: “We have the Dawgs.”

The Jumper swallows in fear and claims, “But those are… them! To use them is to court death itself, I mean, the Dawgs are dangerous beasts who’ll SURELY be pissed off, they’re just-”

“The perfect plan. I agree.” Victoria looks to Kate with a smile and asks her, “Katie, you’ve seen them before.”

She chuckles to herself, still wrapping her head around the idea of a Hawt Dawg Man army. “Yeah.”

“Then, let’s get them out. And step three: you know, Katie.”

Kate smirks and explains to the others, “The prisoners. Oh, you know me well.” She looks at the others and tells them, “Stay here and stay safe. We’ll be right back.” They run off into the building where their help awaits.

The Chase parents are led into a darkened theater where many of the other unfortunate partygoers have been brought. With their shoulders gripped by cold unfeeling hands, Dolly advises her Agents, “Not so tight, boys.”

The Chases are brusquely pushed into their seats and Zara speaks to the villainess as she starts to flutter onto the stage where a video camera awaits, “Dolly… Dolly? We heard about who you are under the mask. We’re with you here, not your enemy, we don’t want you to get hurt. Just let Montrose go. Him and Victoria, please.”

Dolly giggles and looks back at her coldly. “No. Not yet.” She continues, “Sorry about what’ll happen to you. It’s just business.”

Colin stands up and asks her, with desperation in his voice, “What are you-”

An Agent aims his gun at him and Colin slowly sits back down as Dolly checks up on the camera. “Stay seated. It’s almost showtime.”

* * *

“Are these things really dangerous?”

Kate shrugs her shoulders and tells her wife, “I believe so. And I also believe in us reaching out to them. Somehow.” She leads Victoria back down the hallway of offices before approaching that vault door that contains the Dawgs. “Let’s get this thing open.” Motioning for her to stand back, Kate aims a bright-light fist at the door and cuts it straight out of the frame and right off the hinges.

From the darkness, two wide eyes glimmer and growl. Victoria shakes, afraid of whatever these dangerous Dawgs are capable of. She extends an open hand and tells them gently, “Hey, hey, easy. We’re not here to hurt you.” She looks at Kate, nervous now more than ever before, and asks, “Friends. Right? Friends?”

Kate shoots a smirk her way and gets down on her knees before whistling at the Dawgs, “Here.” She makes kissy noises at the beasts and they stomp out with their purple boots. They’re small, the Dawgs, no more than three feet tall. “Here, boy.” A Dawg leading the pack hobbles over to Kate and hugs her gently. Patting it on the head, Kate tells the Dawg with a smile, “Good boy!”

Another Dawg marches over to Victoria and waves at her with his purple gloves. She smiles at the creature, lifts it up in her arms, and tells it softly, “Aw. Good Dawggy.”

Swiftly, with no time to lose, the two lovers lead their Dawgs downstairs. Downstairs into the Agency Dungeons, where prisoners are held unconstitutionally, metahumans (and the unlucky people with a weird skill who may or may not actually be metahumans) await freedom.

A prisoner, with blood, bone and skin frosted in ice, asks his neighbor, “So what’re you in for?”

The spiky haired electromagnetic madam sitting in the cell next to him says, rather annoyed, “Bro. We’ve been here for eight months, how are you asking me this NOW?”

A hole forms in the ceiling and out comes Kate, Victoria and a Dawg clutched close to her. Kate happily tells the prisoners, “I’m back, and I brought my wife!”

Victoria looks around and asks loudly, “Are you all in to beat down Dolly?”

“Who?”

“Then let’s go save the world! Kate, do the honors.” Kate illuminates her body and explodes into light; the protective light against Dolly’s mental attacks. Victoria opens the doors with the pull of a lever, freeing the prisoners and unleashing them back out onto the world.

* * *

Tangi whistles, confused at why everything’s gotten so quiet. After all, that’s never a good sign. He looks to the Merchant and asks him, “Hey, Lefty! Are they still inside there?”

“That depends. What are ya sellin’ in exchange?”

Tangi raises a rifle in his direction, aiming it at his face. “I won’t shoot you if you talk.”

The Merchant shrugs and tells him, “Doesn’t really matter either way.”

“No, it does-”

The doors burst open and out step the metahuman prisoners, the Hawt Dawg Monsters, the Jumper, the Doctor, Elmer, Lord Laundry, Kate and Victoria. They charge, with the two lovers leading the strike. Victoria yells, with a triumphant smile on her face and a pointed finger aimed at the criminal clown leading Dolly's Agents, “CHAAAAAAAARGE!”


	16. The Metabeing Manifesto

The forcefield falls.

The curtains rise. Here is where Dolly led her revolution against the human world. The revolution that is only being aided by her best effort.

Snow falls as the local police head onto the premises with their big guns. Now, it's showtime.

Dolly rises to her feet and holds the video camera up from the table to her face. Her mask smiles for her and she begins. “Good evening, America, and Happy Holidays. You likely don’t know who I am, so let me introduce myself to you. My name is Dolly and I’m a metab-being with the- uh, epic power to control the mind. I have lived and I have died. That makes me a god. One who is over humanity. Which is why I will be killing some of its worst, live on television.” She turns the camera to face her oligarch opposition, held at gunpoint by several dozen Agents. “Look at them. The rich, the greedy, the powerful. All friends and associates of the Agency of Metahuman Containment. All complicit in their crimes. All who will die. Consider this a wakeu-”

_ BRRRING BRING _ . “A- uh, wakeup call to-” _ BRRRING BRING _. She mutters under her breath, “Fuck”, and answers her phone. “Wassup- Hey, calm down, Tangi… Ouch, your LEG? Wait, who’s ‘they’? Victoria Chase ate your leg? The DAWGS ate your leg?! Wowser. Uh, can you run away? No? Hold them off then.” In a rage, she tosses the phone aside and tells the camera, “So, in short, fuck humanity, I’m a god.” She sticks her tongue out for the camera with a peace sign held up in the air.

She turns the camera back onto the audience, and also onto the sudden arrival of Victoria and Kate into the theatre. Spotting the villainess, Kate yells with an outstretched hand, “Dolly, stop!”

“No.” Dolly sets the camera back on the table and goofily waves goodbye to her. “Bye bye, kill them all.”

The Agents prepare their weapons and the oligarchs hold one another as things seem bleak for them. Victoria angrily mutters to herself, “Shit.”

Seeing no time to lose, she dashes towards Dolly. The sounds of bullets flying into the air as Hawt Dawg Men attack the Agents flood her ears. Another sound, a panicked cry from her parents, rings louder than any other sound. They call to her in fear: “Victoria!”

Victoria climbs onto the stage as Dolly hovers into the air. She sees what she must do and grabs onto one of her legs to hold her down. In a rage, Dolly shrieks, “Ack! Get offa me!” To further repel her, she blasts straight up into the air, tearing a hole in the ceiling. Still, Victoria refuses to let go.

Gaining a better hold on her, Victoria demands of the villainess in a pissed off growl, “Where’s Montrose?!”

“Closer than you think!” Seeing the battle unfold between her controlled Agents and the SWAT team, the Doctor, the Jumper, the Hawt Dawg Men, the prisoners and the liberated Enforcers, she zips down to earth and crashes into the ground, knocking Victoria off of her in a plume of debris.

Dolly rises to her feet once more and dusts herself off. But, just as she prepares to retreat to her lair, a metal tendril wraps around her body and pulls her to the ground. “Been a while, Miss Derrick.”

Dolly looks at the Doctor in frustration and hisses at her (quite literally, for some reason), “Hisssss. That’s not my name!”

The tendril’s grip tightens as she shoots back, “It is. You’re just too scared to face the truth.” Another tendril, one of wool, enthralls Dolly. It’s Lord Laundry, pissed at her usage of him for her menial plot.

Suddenly, a blade tears through the entrapments, freeing Dolly. “I said GET OFFA ME!” She pushes herself to the ground and knocks everyone away from her in a psionic shockwave. Setting her sights on Victoria, she tells her, “You know where to find me, Victori- AGH!” She loses her grip on control…

… And Montrose speaks. “Miss Chase!”

“Montrose?”

“She’s using my body as a vessel! You must stop her!”

Victoria looks at Elmer in confusion and he explains, “Yeah, that’s what I was gonna tell ya. Sorry.”

“You can stop herrrgh…” He clutches his head in pain…

… And Dolly hops back into the driver’s seat. “Come and get your butler, Vicky! And if I get the idea that anyone else is with you, he’s deader than the Dodo!” And without any hesitation, she flies off to her lair.

As the battle dies down, the Jumper tells Victoria, “The Theatre is secure.”

She rushes back into the Theatre where Kate is comforting Victoria’s parents. “Mom, Dad, are you two alright?”

Hugging their daughter, Colin explains, “Our brains feel a little loose. She went through our memories or something. But besides that? A-okay.”

Victoria lets out a sigh of relief and tells them both, “Oh, good. I’m glad you’re both safe.” Cracking her knuckles, she adds, “Now, I’ll go save Montrose.”

Zara holds her daughter’s hand and tells her gently, “Victoria, you can’t go alone.”

Victoria ponders to herself, “_ Sorry, mom _”, and looks at Kate with a knowing smirk on her face. “No, I must. Katie, stay right here with them and don’t go anywhere.” Kate swiftly sprinkles light into their eyes so that Dolly won’t know what is coming her way; namely, the two of them. “I love you guys.” Kate disperses into light and Victoria runs out of the Theatre.

Marching towards the Northwest Surveillance Tower, Victoria mentally prepares herself for the final confrontation. She knows that this will be it for Dolly one way or another - as her powers of pseudo-Spidey-Sense have deemed it so - but she also doesn’t know how it’ll all end for Dolly.

Or for Montrose for that matter.

Or why she’s suddenly thinking about Blackwell Academy’s security protocols regarding a dead Prescott in the bathroom and getting to Kate’s aid before-

No. That’s neither here nor now. Though it does trouble Victoria. _Oh god. What does that mean? Why would that- No. That doesn't matter now._

Here is the Northwest Surveillance Tower. Now is when she steps through the empty, almost ghastly lobby into the stairwell. She takes the stairs up three flights before finding her destination.

The entrance to Dolly’s lair is guarded by several Agents. They wear reindeer hats and hold Christmas presents. Victoria puts up her fists and the Agents… sing.

“_ Feliz Navidaaad! Feliz navidaaad! _

_ Feliz navidad, próspero año y felicidad!” _

Another Agent, armed with a guitar, slides in front of Victoria and continues:

“_ I wanna wish you a Meeerry Christmas! _

_ I wanna wish you a Meeerry Christmas! _

_ I wanna wish you a Merry Christmas, _

_ From the bottom, of my heaaaaart! _”

Rolling her eyes, she steps into the Surveillance Room where Dolly stands and Sean Prescott lies.

Here (on this side of the country anyways), it is Christmas Day.

Now is the time to stop Dolly once and for all.


	17. Playtime's Over

Dolly glares at Victoria with a tilt to her head, giggling at something that she doesn’t quite understand. “Look at you, all grown up. A real everyone’s hero.”

“Let Montrose go. Then, we can talk.”

Scratching at her head, she informs her, “I’m afraid I can’t do that, Vicky. Otherwise, how else will this whole thing go down?” She leans against a control panel and asks, “I want you to tell me your secret. Eheheh. Your Victoria’s secret.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Why can’t I control you? Is it something in your blood perhaps? Is it- is it becaaaause I, uh, is it me? Is it those powers of yourssss?”

Victoria steps forward and tells her, “I don’t know, and I. Don’t. Care. Look, Dolly, this whole plan you and Bedlam have concocted, it’s not gonna work. I checked my phone on the way here, and Bedlam’s losing in Arcadia Bay. You’re surrounded, the Enforcers have betrayed you, no one’s paying attention to your shitty little plot to start a revolution or whatever because, y’know, it’s fucking Christmas. Give him up.”

“You’d like that, wouldn’t you? For me to give up on my life’s goals? Bully.” Dolly cackles angrily before claiming, “And that’s exactly why you won’t get Monty back.”

Victoria scoffs and sighs, thinking of where to take the conversation next. “Why Montrose, of all people?”

“He’s been close with Mr. Pee over here.” She points at Sean Prescott as he lies on the floor. “Don’t worry, I’m sure he’s… not dead- what?!” She steps over to him and hears his breathing. It’s shallow and slow, but it is breathing. “This motherfucker’s alive?” She looks at Victoria who only raises an eyebrow to her. “No matter, I’m getting distracted. Being Prescott’s butler, he’d know a lot about this place, his life, all that. And also a little bit about you, up until he got bought out. Nothing relevant, just how he raised ya and all that junk.” Tapping her chin, she adds, “It’s basically a coincidence. Big fuckin’ coincidence.”

“He’s not important to this anymore then, so let him go.”

“Did I not make myself clear? He's not yours anymore. He’s mine. Mine, mine, mine for the taking!”

“I'm begging you, Dolly! Please…”

“No. I wo- oh… my- NO, YOU STAY IN THERE!” Dolly clutches her head, shrinking in pain (and control) as she does so.

Montrose jolts into power and grunts as he shakes away Dolly’s influence over him. “Victoria! Please, kill me!”

Victoria slowly shakes her head and tells him, “Montrose, I can't-”

“You must! Use that rifle of yours, and kill me!”

She suddenly remembers the rifle she bought and how it is slung over her shoulder on a strap. “Shit… no. No! I just got you back!”

Montrose smiles and laughs innocuously, happy to know she cares about him. Happy to know she cares about people more than he had heard she did back when she was in high school. “And I've been happier than ever to see you! And Zara! And Colin! But this must be done. Dolly's a monster!”

“But, I mean, she's not a monster, she's helped us in the past and she's still a person!”

“I know.” Slowly, staggeringly, Montrose walks up to Victoria. Every step brings Dolly back into power, but he must reassure the girl in these trying times. He hugs Victoria and tells her, “Save me.”

Victoria knows what must be done. To stop Dolly, the gun must fire. “I will.” Taking one deep breath, she aims the rifle in Dolly's face… and waves it away from her face as she fires next to her face.

Montrose falls and Dolly flies into the air, a moth once more. Screeching, she tells Victoria, “You stupid fucking idiot!” She lands on Montrose’s chest and looks at him with a scowl. “I’m so glad that you're so stu-”

She looks at him again. She’s been getting so distracted that she’s messed this whole ‘check if they’re dead’ thing TWICE now. “He's still alive!” Victoria smirks at Dolly and the villainess asks, “What now, you’re gonna step on me?

“I’m gonna turn on the lights. Now, Katie!”

The room brightens as Kate manifests physically. She aims her fists at Dolly, who takes flight in panic.

The fists grow brighter. And then, Kate fires.

Blinded by the light, Dolly screams, “AAAAAARGH!”

Once Kate finishes her assault on the villain, she looks at the moth as she descends to the floor. Her wings are singed and her body is smoking. And yet, somehow, she’s still alive. Barely alive, but alive.

Kate glares at Dolly and mutters, under her breath, “That’s for Alice.”

Victoria rushes over to Montrose’s side and kneels down to talk to him. She shakes him around and worriedly says, “Are you alright?”

The butler rises to his feet and pulls off his costume, revealing the suit he was wearing underneath. “I’m fine.” Dusting himself off, he adds, “Thank you. How did you know to do that?”

“I have superpowers. Like Spidey-Sense.”

Remembering what Dolly had said and thought of Victoria, he says, “Oh, yeaaah.” Looking around, he asks, “So, is it over?”

“Yes and no. This is all over. But as for Arcadia Bay, that’s another story.”

“Ah, what is happening there?”

“An evil tattoo demon is trying to kill everyone on the planet.”

Montrose slowly nods his head, trying to wrap it around the idea of what Victoria just said. “Okay.” Shifting subjects, he looks at Kate and says to her, “Hey, I’ve heard a fair bit of you. Kathryn Marsh, is it?”

Kate extends her hand out and corrects him, “Kate’s fine. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

The two shake hands and Montrose adds, with a smile and a glance at Victoria, “I’m sure.”

* * *

Outside, there is some pandemonium - a kind to be expected of the situation at hand - but it is controlled. Victoria looks for her parents with Kate and Montrose right by her side. She spots them and calls out to them, tired, “Hey, Mom, Dad.”

Her parents run up to the three and wrap them all up in a bear hug. Montrose comments happily, “This is lovely, truly.” Looking around at the chaos surrounding them, he adds jovially, “Considering Prescott is as-of-this-moment disposed of, perhaps you might be in need of butlery once again.”

Zara shakes her head with a smirk. “Butlery? No. But if you want to come back to us, you’re always welcome.”

Montrose lets out a chortle and adds, “I could work with that.”

With the Chases happily reunited, Kate walks over to the others - the assistful Enforcers, Jumper, and Doctor.

The latter takes a phone call, but she is upset by the news she receives: “Yes, yes… Wait, what do you mean ‘he’s gone’?” Rolling her eyes with a sigh, she mumbles, “Shit. Whatever, that isn’t important right now. What of Arcadia Bay? Hm. I see. Very well. Merry Christmas, and God be with you.”

Kate asks, a tad bit worried, “What happened?”

“Okay, so really bad news and lesser bad news. Bad news: Sean Prescott’s missing. He was recovered by some agents but they haven’t called in yet.”

Angrily, Kate groans, “Goddamnit.” Realizing what she just said, she laughs it off nervously before asking, “What else?”

“Arcadia Bay is still under attack. Y’know. The tattoo being.”

Kate corrects her, “Bedlam.” She sighs and tells her, “I’ll go get Victoria. And don’t worry. We can beat him.”

Back with the Chases, Zara asks her husband, “You think our hotel rooms are still open?”

“I’d hope so.” Placing an arm around Colin’s shoulder, he asks, “Monty, wanna come with?”

The grins on all of their faces does little to influence Montrose’s answer: “Absolutely. It would be just like old times.”

“Okay. Victoria?”

She wants to say “Yes.” And she also wants to bring Kate with her. Perhaps Max, Chloe, Rachel and everyone else in the Bay could hold the line against Bedlam. Hell, even the media thinks so. But still, she knows it wouldn’t be right to run away from a battle that could need her. And Kate would certainly want to join the battle. “I dunno. There’s still Arcadia Bay. It’s like war over there.” Her parents still await a clear answer, and she provides one: “As much as I’d like to, I can’t run away from that. I’m going back to Arcadia Bay with Kate. But once this is all over, we’re gonna do something together. All of us. And Kate’s family too.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Zara plops a kiss on her daughter’s forehead as Colin hugs her. “Be careful out there.”

Victoria smiles and tells her parents, “Will do.”

Kate rushes over to her wife and tells her, “Victoria, we gotta-”

“Yeah, I know.” Waving Zara, Colin and Montrose farewell as she walks away with Kate’s hand in hers, she says, “Take care, guys!”

Montrose offers her a more formal farewell, one he taught both her and her parents when they were all younger: “Au revoir.”

The two heroes walk over to their allies and Kate asks, “You’re coming with us?”

Elmer jumps in and says, “Of course! Bedlam and Dolly were working hand-in-hand on this shit. His ass needs kicking too.”

Seeing Lord Laundry, Doctor Court and the Jumper offer their silent approval, Kate tells them, “Then, let’s go.”

“WAIT!” The group turn to see the source of the shout: one of the SWAT officers who are on scene. “If you’re going to war, you’ll need help. The Independence Police Department stands with you.”

As do the Hawt Dawg Men, stepping forward with jaws agape. They still hunger for the flesh of the evil.

The prisoners chime in, their powers in use as a show of support: “YEAH! Let’s do this!”

Looking around at all the support they’ll receive, Victoria murmurs to Kate sheepishly, “We’re gonna need a bigger car.”

Kate grins rather mischievously and tells her, “I can work with that.”

* * *

Aboard a ship made of hard light, Kate and Victoria look out at the world below them. The clouds part gently to make way for the massive ship and the night sky is filled with shimmering stars. Kate turns to see Victoria, afraid of what the future might hold considering that sacrifice Max and Chloe told her about. “You ready for this?”

Inspired by the night’s events, Victoria tells her the cold truth: “No. I’m not. But I don’t have any other choice, do I?”

Kate lets a single laugh escape her chest before adding, “Yeah. I agree.”

Something about her face is telling more than Victoria can see right off the bat. It’s a look of cold acceptance and anxiety for what the future may entail. It’s not too unbelievable considering what they’re heading into. “You don’t seem okay with the battle.”

“I’m not. But we’ll get through it. Together. I promise.” Kate smiles at Victoria and continues looking down at the world beneath them; all the people walking about, unaware of the changes that are about to rock the universe forever.

“Mhm.” Victoria moves over to Kate, holds her close in her arms, and plants a kiss on her cheek. She doesn’t plan on letting her go… until they land and have to fight zombies or whatever may come. It’s a metaphorical thing, really, but it’s true. Victoria will always hold her close.

They look out into the world ahead of them. Bedlam awaits in Arcadia Bay, the Other Max awaits in some other universe, and a sacrifice will take one of them. But Victoria also knows that, whatever happens next, she will find Kate and the two of them will live happy lives together.

At least, that’s how it’s supposed to go, isn’t it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, I have completed Part 4! Oh my god, I don't know why that took so long!
> 
> Thank you all for following me along on this journey and leaving some kudos along the way! Your support is highly, highly appreciated and I love you all!
> 
> Part 5 should be coming along soon. I'm pretty excited to tell that story, although it may be a controversial one. I hope you'll all follow me along into that one and whatever ventures I bring to this universe next (although it may not be a lot). Thank you for reading and kudo-ing! Have a good day/afternoon/night!
> 
> The character of Samantha Derrick was created by IsraelBlargh for his brilliant LiS story "Better Then" and I have used the character for my own intentions in this series, I hope that's okay. If you haven't already checked it out (which would honestly be a shock, it's really, really good and really, really popular), then go check it out! Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6164365?view_full_work=true
> 
> MUSIC FOR PART 4  
"Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain" Happy Birthday Song  
Two Door Cinema Club - Something Good Can Work  
Galantis - No Money  
Dick Shawn - The Snow Miser Song  
Shakin’ Stevens - Merry Christmas Everyone  
MGMT - When You Die  
José Feliciano - Feliz Navidad


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